


Blackbird

by Courage4Klaine



Category: Glee
Genre: Blaine's story, Klaine, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-19 14:46:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7365847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Courage4Klaine/pseuds/Courage4Klaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically this is Klaine from Blaine's perspective. I will be going through every episode and sharing our boys story from Blaine's side, so it will include never before seen scenes, and little extra goodies along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Take Me Back to the Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I really hope you give Blaine's story a read and let me know what you think!

The wind hits Blaine a little hard as he climbs out of his brother’s car and waves him goodbye, throwing his slightly tattered school bag over his shoulder, wrapping his scarf just a little bit tighter around his neck as he heads towards the large grey building he’s seen every day for the last year. It's coming close to the end of his freshmen year here at Ellensfield and to be honest he’s feeling a little bummed about it. Not because he’ll be moving up to a higher grade and he’ll probably need to do even more studying than he does now, but because maybe he won't have any of the same classes as James.

As he walks passed a crowd of jocks he feels a hand fall heavily onto his shoulder and he can’t help but smile.

"Blaine! Man you totally just missed the best dumpster toss we've ever done" James grins at him with his large brown eyes shining happily and Blaine can tell he's proud of the fact he's probably just hurt another kid beyond therapies help. Blaine simply nod and smile.

"Sorry man. My brother didn't get up til late so I had to wait around for him" Blaine smiles and his heart flutters just a little. James was the first friend he’d made in high school and it was safe to say he was definitely in love with him.

Though of course James would never ever know that.

Being gay wasn't something you just blurted out around here, here being Ohio. People weren't to accepting of it and Blaine had figured that out at the age of 6 when he’d come home from school and told his father all about little Harry Wellington, the new boy in his class with the lovely green eyes and red hair, the boy that Blaine was going to marry one day.

Every time he thinks about little Harry Wellington his jaw aches just a little from the impact his father's hand had left on him. Needless to say, he’d never talked about the possibility of his sexuality being steered toward men ever again at home.

So whenever Blaine feel butterflies in his stomach from James's touch, he would simply swallow and ignore them, and go back to smiling at his best friend.

"That's cool dude" James grins at him and claps his back before he walks with Blaine toward the locker room. James is a sophomore and he was the first guy to come and talk to Blaine after he’d had a rather rough first day at school. He'd taken Blaine under his wing and now he was the boys best friend and he felt he honestly couldn't ask for a better one. Because James was on the football team he kept the jocks off his back, and now Blaine might actually be the only freshmen who doesn't get bullied around here, and he knows that's because of James. He's a nice guy when they’re alone, he's a nerd at heart and he shares things with Blaine that he's never told another soul and that makes Blaine feel like perhaps, if he did come out to him, maybe he'd actually be somewhat accepting. Sometimes he feels like he catches James staring at him when they’re alone, staring at him in a way that is almost loving. It often makes Blaine blush and James called him a weirdo but he knows that it's just a term of endearment.

Once they reach the lockers, Blaine looks up at James he feels like perhaps now is the time. He just has to blurt it all out.

"Uh… James?" he breathes and James looks at him with a small smirk.

"Yes dwarf?" he grins and Blaine looks around for a brief moment.

There are bright pink posters everywhere with the words SADIE HAWKINS DANCE scrawled all over them and Blaine knows that this is his only chance to show James that he cares about him in a way that is classified a lot higher than friendship. He looks at Blaine expectantly and the boy swallow.

"Are you going to the Sadie Hawkins dance?" He asks quickly and gently, blinking for a moment as he awaits a response.

"No. Are you?" James asks and Blaine sees his eyebrows raise with curiosity. He swallows and shrugs

"I haven't been asked yet.".

"Don't sweat it dude. It's still three days away. I'm sure you'll find someone" James grins and claps Blaine’s shoulder. The boy swallows back all his nerves that he just knows are threatening to come up in vomit form and looks at James.

"Do you want to go together?" He blurts out and for a moment he thinks that James hasn’t heard him. Then the others face turns from a smile to a frown.

"What?" he breathes and let's go of Blaine’s shoulder quickly, almost as if he has been burnt.

"Do you want to go with me?" Blaine practically squeaks out and is met with an immediate frown.

"As friends?" the jock asks and for a moment Blaine about to tell him no. I love you. I want to go as your date. I want to dance with you and kiss you under the fake stars and have you tell me you've always loved me too.

"Yeah. Of course. As friends" He smiles falsely. The light comes back into James’s eyes just as quickly as it had left and he grins.

"God Blaine. Don't scare me like that. People might think you're a fag" he chuckles and claps Blaine’s arm again before he simply leaves him and his broken heart in the middle of the hallway.

Blaine lets out a shaky breath and swallows hard and opens up his locker to collect his books. He’s not entirely sure how to feel. James has never been homophobic around him before, and he can't help but feel like maybe he's putting up some wall to keep Blaine from finding out the truth.

 

Blaine spends the rest of the day by himself, mulling everything over. Maybe he really shouldn't come out to James, or any of his other friends. Maybe he should just stay in the closet and follow in his father’s footsteps. He'd be proud to have a doctor for a son.

It's not until he heads out to the car park to wait for Cooper after the final bell rings that he realises he doesn’t have a choice in whether or not to come out. He needs to.

James is the one he notices first.

He's shoving a tall boy with bright blue hair, yelling something Blaine can't quite hear. Then he notices two other jocks, both sophomores too, who are going through the blue haired boys bag, throwing his things into the trash, screaming words at him that tear Blaine’s heart in two. What hurts more is he know that boy.

It's Marcus Harrison, a sophomore like them. He's in a few of Blaine’s classes and sometimes when Cooper works he drives him home. He's a lovely guy and he's also the only person in the world who knows that Blaine is gay. He takes a deep breath and without really thinking Blaine hurried forward and stops right beside James, chest heaving a little as nerves take over.

"What the hell are you doing?" He breathes and James turns to look at him, as does Marcus. The boy’s blue eyes stare at Blaine and he shakes his head in protest, but Blaine simply ignores him.

"Blaine! You're just in time. We're about to throw this fag into the trash" James grins and Blaine just stares a him,

"What? Because he's gay?" Blaine breathes and Marcus starts to shake his head rather violently.

"Blaine don't" he hisses and James ignores him, still grinning his charming grin.

"Yeah. Because he's a fag" He nods and Blaine swallows, stomach churning as he sets his bag down. He has to do it. It’s now or never.

"Then you need to throw me in too" Blaine says with a lot less confidence than he’d intended but he knows James has heard him because he lets go of Marcus instantly and looks at Blaine with large, unbelieving eyes.

"Blaine?" he asks and Marcus takes this time to steal back his bag, moving to stand beside Blaine. The young boy swallows hard and look at James.

"Do it. Throw me in" Blaine hisses and James just stares at him for what feels like an eternity before he steps back.

Blaine lets out a breath and Marcus picks up his bag, taking his hand, dragging him off towards the car park before any of the jocks can even get a word in.

Blaine’s heart pounds as he swallows back what he’s sure is vomit.

He’s just come out.

He’s come out as gay and he can't go back.

Marcus stops when he get to the far side of the car park and he immediately pulls Blaine in for a tight embrace. Blaine can smell his cologne and it's oddly comforting, so he hugs him back.

"Thank you Blaine" he whispered and kisses his hair.

"Thank you so much." He sniffs and pulls back to smile at him. Blaine just nods gently and sniffs when Marcus strokes his cheek.  
"You are so brave to do that. I'm so… so grateful... so much." He nods and bites his lip for a moment.

"Come with me to the Sadie Hawkins dance" he breathes and it causes Blaine to stutter.

"Marcus… I... I can't…"

"As friends Blaine. As friends. But this time we don't need to hide. It will be fun" he nods and Blaine takes a moment to consider this. Would it be good for him to actually go out as himself for the first time in his life? He sighs and gives the smallest of nods.

"Okay" He says and Marcus hugs him again and he realises that he likes the blue haired boy’s hugs, and maybe he could get used to them.   
**

"So it wasn't that bad right?" Marcus smiles as he stands next to Blaine in a matching blue tux that seems to also match his hair and Blaine can't help but grin at him from under the light of the streetlamp, because he's right. It wasn't that bad. They’d spent the night dancing together and having a good time and no one had even bothered to annoy them. Just to be safe they had sat down for all the slow dances but even then they’d giggled and been close and not one soul seemed to mind. That really made Blaine feel good.

He reaches for the boy’s hand and they’re fingers slide together and Marcus gives his hand a small squeeze. 

"Thanks for coming with me Blaine. You're a great guy…" he hums and goes to say something else but is cut off by a wolf whistle. He drops Blaine’s hand immediately and spins around, facing back toward the school. Blaine frowns a little and turn and follow his gaze, squinting as he tries to make out who made the noise. In the darkness he can see one, two, three, four, five figures slowly emerge, all wearing matching grins that make his heart stop. Leading the pack is James in what appears to be a red suit, and Blaine can see from the look in his eyes that he's about to have some fun tonight.

Blaine glances at Marcus as the blood drains from his face.

"When's your Dad coming?” Blaine whispered and Marcus does not look at him as he gives his answer.

"Ten minutes"

Shit.

James slowly stops in front of them and neither of the boy’s dare speak a word. Blaine can feel that they are both cold and frightened and want nothing more than to go home, and right now not a single bone in Blaine’s body trusts the boy who only 3 days ago was his best friend.

Not one single bone.

"Blainey" James grins and Blaine swallows hard. 

"James… please just leave" he breathes and watches as James simply clicks his fingers and two guys leave, heading in different directions. Blaine frantically follows them with his eyes and James smiles.

"Don't worry Blaine, they're just on lookout" he grins and before Blaine knows it one of the boys behind him has Marcus pinned to the floor, the boy gasping with the wind knocked out of him.

"Stop! Don't touch him!" Blaine starts to yell but a fist collides with his jaw and he falls to the hard floor, head swimming with agony. He blinks but his vision is blurred and all he can hear is the soft screams coming from beside him and he prays. He prays to God that Marcus is okay, but he has a gut wrenching feeling that he isn't. He tries to breathe through the pain but his head is killing him and he only just notices the hand that grips at his suit and tugs him upward with such a force his neck clicks and he groans out in pain once more.

"You're sick" James voice echoes in his ears and the boy throws another punch, fist colliding this time with Blaine’s ribs. A scream erupts from his throat but it never makes it out as another punch hits his stomach, causing him to cough and splutter violently. His head spins and he can taste blood and bile in his mouth but he can't swallow. Instead he feels it slide down his chin and he trembles as James’s once gorgeous, once kind, now horrifyingly terrifying face comes into focus. His eyes are cold as he glares at Blaine and his hand grips his shirt even tighter.

"You're fucked up. You hear me? I let you in my room, I let you in my bed. You're a twisted fag and you need to learn your place. Do you hear me? You're wrong for this world Blaine. You don't deserve a life" he growls and throws Blaine to the ground and the last thing he hears is the screeching of tyres before his world goes cold and silent and black.

 

****

Blaine finds out that Marcus is paralysed from the waist down.

No one knows for how long. But then again, they all know that if someone's tailbone and spinal cord are shattered and damaged by a baseball bat, there's going to be some long lasting damage, if not permanent.

Blaine gets off okay. He only has a broken rib and nose, a swollen jaw and some cuts a bruises. Compared to Marcus it seems like he just tripped over and got a few scrapes.

No one does anything about it. They say they have no way of knowing who did it because the boys were both so concussed, and all the boys they named had alibies. They say they just need to be more careful. More alert.

In other words, they don't care.

Marcus transfers schools the moment he gets out of hospital and he drops contact with Blaine a few weeks later and he’s all alone.

No one will talk to the gay kid.

No one wants to hang out or study with or even be seen with the gay kid.

He's all alone and not one damn person seems to notice.

It's only after months of torment and hurt that Blaine comes home with puffy eyes and begs his father to let him move. He begs for hours and is turned away. Later the same night he swallows the entire bottle of his fathers sleeping pills and wakes up in hospital with a crying mother beside him. Cooper tells him how he had found his little brother, barely alive in his room, and how their father had already spoken to the school about a transfer. Not even a week later he stands in the halls of Dalton Academy, a freshman, a lone soul.

He walks down the grand hall and a tall boy bumps into him and for a brief moment a flash of fear seems to race through Blaine’s veins and he cowers away,

"Oh. I'm so sorry" a soft voice hums and Blaine looks up at a smiling face. The boy, Asian and well built, offers Blaine his hand.

"Hi. I'm Wes Montgomery. Welcome to Dalton" he grins and Blaine timidly shakes his hand as the fear flows away.

He's knows he’s safe.

Inside these walls and iron gates he’s finally safe.

At least for now, at least until reality comes back and his walls have to go back up. But for now he can be himself.

And it had never felt so good.


	2. Never Been Kissed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the support! Here is Never Been Kissed!!

NEVER BEEN KISSED

As the Dalton hallways fill with chatter and the shuffling of students, Blaine is pretty sure he's never felt as ready to perform. The Warblers and himself have been practicing different numbers all week just for the off chance that perhaps they'd have a small window in which to perform for the student body during the busy school day. The more performances they gave, the more popular they'd become, and perhaps they'd even recruit some more members. Blaine feels his phone buzz in his pocket as he comes out of his French class, slipping his books into his bag before he opens it up.

/Performance time! Meet you in the Senior Commons in 5! Teenage Dream -Wes/

Blaine grins and stows his phone away as he reaches the top of the staircase. A few warblers race passed him and he chuckles to himself and checks his pocket watch one more time as he descends. He really doesn't want to be late, especially since this time he'd been asked to sing lead again.

"Oh excuse me"

A soft, high toned voice calls out and grabs Blaine's attention and he turns around as he reaches the bottom of the marble staircase, looking up to see a boy around his age standing there, not in the Dalton uniform. He's slender, very pale skinned and rather beautiful for a boy, Blaine thinks.

"Um, hi. Can I ask you a question? I'm new here"

The moment those words come from the boy's mouth Blaine knows that he's lying. Dalton issues every new student with a uniform at least three days before their first day. He decides to let it slide though, curious as to what this strangely attractive boy is doing at his school. So instead he offers out his hand like a gentleman and smiles.

"My name's Blaine"

The boy shakes his hand quickly and Blaine makes a mental note of just how warm and soft his hands are.

"Kurt. So what exactly is going on?" Kurt asks with a raised brow and Blaine smiles, looking around as a few more students pass them by and head down the hallway towards the common room.

"The Warblers. Every now and then they throw an impromptu performance in the Senior commons, tends to shut the school down for a while." Blaine gives the boy a small smirk, rather proud that he can talk about his show choice like this. He notices the look of shock on Kurt's face and doesn't have to ask what it's for.

"So, wait, the glee club here is kind of cool?"

Kurt speaks in a tone of disbelief and Blaine smiles happily.

"The warblers are like rock stars." He hums and pauses for a small moment. He has no idea where this boy is from or what he's doing here, but it seems like he is genuinely interesting in what Blaine has to say.

"Come on, I know a short cut"

And with that Blaine takes the boys soft hand and tugs him off down a different hallway, smiling to himself as they jog. He glances over to Kurt and takes note at how amazed he appears at the décor. His smile remains on his face as he finally let's go of Kurt's hand, opening up the doors to the senior commons. It's quite full inside, Blaine giving a few of his warbler friends a small smile as he enters.

"Ooh, I stick out like a sore thumb"

Kurt's comment makes Blaine smirk just a little and he turns to look at the boy. He is clearly taken aback, his light eyes are wide, taking in his new surroundings. There is a slight new pinkness to his prominent cheeks that Blaine decides suits him. He reaches out and straightens the lapel of Kurt's adorable attempt at a Dalton blazer and smiles at him.

"Well, next time don't forget your jacket, new kid. You'll fit right in" He smiles and makes a note of how lovely Kurt looks when he smiles.

"Now, if you'll excuse me" he hums and moves to stand with his fellow warblers, grinning from ear to ear as they start their acapella rendition of Teenage Dream.  
Throughout the song, Blaine can't help but notice how in awe Kurt seems to be. The boy watches them with what Blaine can only describe as admiration. He notices Kurt look around the room to gage other people's reaction, and Blaine decides that perhaps Kurt needs this, for whatever reason. He needs to see that a place as freeing as this is real. He needs some form of connection. Blaine knows all too well how it feels to be lost, to feel like you're just floating around with nothing in sight to grab on to. So he gives Kurt something to grab. Blaine keeps is eyes on the boy as he sings, hoping that perhaps his way of reaching out will give the boy an answer to whatever it was he came here looking for, and it certainly wasn't to spy on the warblers. Yes, Blaine had figured that the attempt of a uniform and the curiosity for the glee club here could really only point to a competitor coming to take a look at the competition.

When the song ends, Blaine watches as Kurt claps happily and grips onto his satchel strap.

"Who's the kid out of uniform?" Wes asks Blaine as he passes, keeping his voice low. Blaine looks to his friend and gives him a smile.

"I'll tell you soon. I'll meet you in the café in about ten minutes?"

Wes gives him a nod and claps his shoulder before he heads off. Blaine straightens his tie, fixes his hair and makes his way over to Kurt, keeping a smile on his lips.

"So, thoughts? Constructive criticism?" he muses, holding his arms across his chest, cocking his head to the side as Kurt looks at him with a blank expression for the briefest of moments before he lets out a breath and smiles.

"You're all so talented, it was amazing… breath taking, actually" the boy breathes and Blaine can't help but smile a little wider. Kurt had actually enjoyed the performance.

"Is that what you'll report back?" he asks casually, so casually that it takes a moment or two before the colour drains from Kurt's face and his grip on his satchel strap increases.

"I… I'm sorry…"

"Kurt. Why don't you take a few minutes to yourself, breathe? Then come and meet us down the hallway, two doors to your left is a café. We can… talk there" Blaine nods and gives the boys arm a small squeeze. Kurt simply nods.

"I… Okay." He sniffs and little and turns on his heel, hurrying off back the way Blaine had brought him. Blaine nibbles on his lower lip as he watches the boy leave. There's something about him that Blaine can't quite shake. He seems like an interesting character, one that Blaine would love to get to know. He picks up his bag from where it has been set on a nearby table, slotting it onto his shoulder before he grabs out his phone and texts David, asking him to join Wes and himself in the Café. He would have invites a few more warblers, but he doesn't want to overwhelm Kurt. He stows his phone away in his pocket and makes his way down the hallway, taking his time to admire it as he goes.  
On his first day at Dalton, Blaine's face had mirrored Kurt's awe exactly. He wasn't aware that such a divine place could exist, or that the people populating it could be as accepting and as kind as they were. Blaine had made his home here, and he really hoped he could share some of his journey with Kurt, if need be.

"Think he'll like a latte?" Wes asks as Blaine enters the café, holding up a tray with four steaming hot cups on them. Blaine nods and takes a seat beside David, thanking Wes for the coffee.

"I'm sure he will. He seems a little… nervous."

"We were always going to be nice about this. This isn't the first time someone has tried to spy on us before competition time" Wes notifies him as he takes his seat beside Blaine. Blaine sips his coffee and nods.

"I know… but I have a feeling that he didn't just come here to spy." Blaine looks at his two friends and they both nod in agreeance. Wes opens his mouth to speak when there is a small knock on the door opposite, Kurt standing there. He's changing his clothes. Gone is the imitation of the Dalton uniform, in its place a more sophisticated outfit of a grey dress shirt, a charcoal throw over collar and a nice tie with black skinny jeans. Blaine takes a moment to look the boy up and down before he comes over to sit. He gives Wes and David weary smiles before Blaine pushes the fourth coffee cup over to him.

"Latte?" he hums and Kurt mouths a thank you at him softly.

"This is Wes and David" Blaine gives small gesture to the boys seated beside him, both giving Kurt small smiles.

"It's very civilised of you to invite me for coffee before you beat me up for spying" Kurt speaks in an almost defensive tone and Wes is quick to respond.

"We are not going to beat you up" he states and Blaine almost sighs as he sips his latte, the warm rush that passes through him giving him a little more confidence for the conversation they're having with this total stranger. That's what he is after all.

"You were such a terrible spy, we thought it sort of… endearing" David chuckles and Blaine nods in agreeance, setting down his cup.

"Which made me think that spying on us wasn't really the reason you came."

Blaine shoots Kurt a knowing look, smiling to himself when Kurt lets out a breath, clearly realising the boys in blazers had found out the truth.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" He looks at the three and they all smile slightly, allowing him to ask.

"Are you guys all gay?"

Blaine chuckles and Wes and David look at him with a glimmer of amusement in their eyes. Blaine had asked them the very same thing on his first day. Blaine looks at Kurt and notices that the boy isn't laughing along with them.

"Uh, uh no. I mean, I am, but these two have girlfriends" Blaine smiles and gestures to his two friends, feeling just a little prouder of himself. He'd discovered that at his time at Dalton, the idea of people knowing his sexuality didn't seem to bother him anymore. In fact, he was rather open about the subject.

"This is not a gay school. We just have a zero tolerance harassment policy." David smiles at Kurt and Wes nods.

"Everybody gets treated the same. No matter what they are. It's pretty simple."

Those words that had once given Blaine all the hope in the world brought tears to Kurt's eyes. The boy looked completely and utterly shocked. Blaine watched him for a moment, noticing the look of fear and confusion in his eyes, remembering that look all too well.

"Would you guys excuse us?" He asks and looks to Wes and David. They both shoot him a questioning look but rise to their feet all the same.

"Take it easy Kurt" Wes tells the boy before he and David leave with their coffee's in hand. Blaine adjusts himself in his seat and lets out a small sigh.

"I take it you're having trouble at school"

The tears remain in Kurt's eyes and Blaine fights off the feeling to reach out and take the boys hand to comfort him.

"I'm the only out of the closet at my school. And I-I I tried to stay strong about it, but there's this Neanderthal who's made it his mission to make my life a living hell. And nobody seems to notice"

By this point Kurt is crying, and Blaine can feel his own stomach start to churn. How could people still be this ignorant and hateful? His palms start to sweat under the table as memories from his freshmen year start to make their way back into his mind. It sounded to him like Kurt was going through a hell of a lot more than he had.

"I know how you feel" he tells him, deciding to risk sounding like a person who says they know when they really don't. Because of course Blaine knows how it feels, and if any advice he has to give could help this boy… he'd give it.

"I got taunted at my old school, and it really…pissed me off. I even complained about it to the faculty, and they were sympathetic and all, but you could just tell that nobody really…cared" Blaine sighs softly and tries to push away the many conversations he'd had with his teachers, with his principal about how unsafe he felt around James and the other boys in his classes.

"It was like, hey… if you're gay…your life is just gonna be miserable. Sorry. Nothing we can do about it"

Blaine notices the defeat in Kurt's eyes and speaks up again.

"So I left, and I came here. Simple as that"

Of course it wasn't as simple as that, but Blaine didn't need to be spilling his past to someone he had only just met.

"So you have two options. I mean, I'd love to tell you to just come enrol here, but tuition at Dalton's sort of steep, and I know that's not an option for everybody. Or you can refuse to be the victim. Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt. And you have a chance right now to teach him." Blaine tells the boy and for a moment he believes it himself. If someone had told him this when he'd been bullied… he knows that he might not regret his decision to run quite as much as he does now.

"How?"

"Confront him. Call him out. I ran, Kurt. I didn't stand up. I let bullies chase me away. And it is something that I really, really regret." Blaine lets out a soft sigh as Kurt sips his coffee and sets it back down again, shaking his head.

"He's… so much bigger than me…"

"I know it's daunting… I get that. But half the time bullies persist because they know that no one will fight back. If you do… he might just stop." Blaine smiles softly and bites his lip before he reached across the table and takes the boys hand into his own. It's soft and warm and Blaine isn't sure why he's doing this, but it feels right. He squeezes the boys hand and by passes his shocked expression.

"Courage… is something that not a lot of people use, and you have it Kurt. You needed it to be able to come here today and share this with me. And it will be all you need when you confront this guy. And if you need me… I'll be a phone call away" Blaine releases Kurt's hand and pulls his phone from his pocket, handing it over to Kurt. Kurt swallows for a moment before he takes the boys phone with shaking hands.

"You're… okay with giving me your number?" he asks and Blaine gives him a soft smile.

"Of course. You need someone on your side Kurt. I'm willing to be that person. And hey, you've gained a friend out of coming here today" He hums and sits back in his chair, watching as Kurt smiles and types in his number. He hands Blaine's phone back to him and looks around the room.

"It's a nice school…"

"It is."

"Do you board here?"

"Yeah. There are a few boarding houses just behind the school. My folks live in Lima so it's a bit of a trek to come here every morning from there" Blaine tells him and finishes off his coffee, Kurt's eyes lighting up at his words.

"I…I'm from Lima." He hums and Blaine raises an eyebrow.

"You drove all this way… to spy on a rival glee club? Now that's dedication" He smirks and Kurt nibbles on his lower lip, fingers tapping against his cup.

"We both know now that was not the main reason for my visit…"

"I know. I'm messing with you. I'm assuming that you are a member of the New Directions" Blaine smiles and takes pleasure in watching Kurt's light eyes grow wide at his comment.

"How did you…"

"Know? We have the competition list too Kurt, and unless you are in fact a 70-year-old man… I'm going to assume you belong to the only rival school on the list" he chuckles and Kurt shakes his head as he laughs softly.

"I really wasn't a very good spy was I?" Kurt smiles, wider than he has all day and Blaine laughs and shakes his head.

"Not at all"

A silence falls over them as they both smile and look down at their coffee cups. Blaine looks back up at Kurt and wonders for a moment if this was how Marcus felt about him in the beginning. He'd clearly seen Blaine as a little bird, lost with broken wings, in need of help. Maybe this was Blaine's time for redemption. Maybe Kurt coming here today was meant to be, perhaps Blaine was meant to help him get his wings back.

"I should probably be getting back… before my Dad starts to worry" Kurt says slowly and gets to his feet, Blaine doing he time.

"Of course. I… you want me to walk you out?" he offers and Kurt shakes his head as he slips his bag onto his shoulder.

"Thank you… but I'll be fine." He hums and looks at Blaine with a soft smile. "Thank you Blaine. For… everything" He breaths and Blaine moves over to him as Kurt offers out his hand for him to shake. He takes it and places his other hand over the top of the boys, squeezing softly.

"Don't thank me. Just… take care of yourself Kurt. And please... don't hesitate to call" He smiles and when Kurt lets go of his hand and waves goodbye, Blaine feels something tug in his stomach. He doesn't want Kurt to go. He wants to learn more about this lovely boy. He takes a seat and opens up his phone. He has a message from his mother and one from Wes, but he ignores them and opens up a new message.

Courage xx -B

He sends the message and sits back in his chair, taking the time alone to reflect on just how much he'd overcome in the past year, and he really hopes that Kurt can do the exact same.

 

Since that day at Dalton, Blaine and Kurt text every second that they get. Sometimes it's just pointless little messages talking about nonsense, and sometimes it's so deep that Blaine has to take a moment to remember that this is a boy he's only just met. That doesn't change the fact that he feels completely comfortable messaging this boy. They haven't called each other yet, but Blaine knows that step will come. Right now he was just enjoying having a new friend.

The first call comes when he's sitting in the Dalton garden by himself, surrounded by a few text books for his history class, trying his hardest to focus on the founding fathers. A smile spreads across his lips when he sees Kurt's name pop up on his screen, immediately answering.

"Hey you" he hums and leans against the trunk of the tree he sits under, closing his text book.

"Blaine… I… I'm sorry… I just don't really know what to do"

Kurt's voice is high and it's shaking and Blaine immediately feels dread hit him hard. Kurt's in trouble.

"Kurt, what's going on? Are you okay… are you safe?" Blaine asks, trying to keep his voice calm, even though he's internally freaking out. What if they had him cornered? What if there was more than just one guy there? Was Kurt about to be hurt?

"Yeah… yeah I'm safe"

Blaine lets out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding in, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay good… good. What's wrong?"

"I thought I was okay but… seeing him every day in the halls... I get so scared that he'll do it again…" Kurt speaks quickly and lets out a soft sob at the end of his sentence that causes a lump to in Blaine's throat.

"That he'll do what again, Kurt?" He's scared to ask, scared to find out if the answer is as bad as he thinks it is.

"He kissed me"

The words shock Blaine a little, and he just sits there under the tree, staring off into the distance. Karofsky had kissed Kurt? That was… unexpected. And extremely wrong. Twisted even. Was Karofsky gay? Could someone really be hurting and hiding themselves that much, that they'd take all their emotions out on someone who wasn't afraid to be themselves? Blaine comes to the conclusion that, yes… that could be the case.

"Kurt…I'm coming to you"

Blaine's not really sure what his plan of action is here, but he knows that if this boy is willing to kiss Kurt against his will, and go right back to harming him… he could definitely be cable of taking things a whole lot further.

"You don't have to come here Blaine, I just needed to tell someone…"

"I'm coming anyway." Blaine says firmly, starting to shove his things into his bag.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. It sounds like he's… confused. Maybe if I talk to him…"

"He's not one for talking Blaine. He likes to use his fists a whole lot more than his words."

"We'll see. Besides… you sound like you could use a friend right now" Blaine sighs and swings his bag over his shoulder, fishing around for his keys as he hurries across the grounds towards the student parking lot.

"I could. If you're really sure?"

"I'm already on my way" Blaine smiles as he climbs into his car and sighs for a moment.

"Kurt?"

"Yes?"

"You confronted him didn't you"

There is silence on the other end for a moment as the realisation kicks in and Blaine runs a hand through his hair.

"Yes."

Blaine bites down hard on his lip. He'd caused this to happen. Him and his bloody advice.

"I know what you're thinking Blaine, so stop it. This is not your fault. I needed to do this. We… had no idea that this would be the outcome" Kurt tells him softly and Blaine sighs.

"I know; I know…"

"So stop blaming yourself this instant. I'll meet you outside the school."

"Okay"

They hang up and Blaine shakes off all his negative feelings as he starts the long drive to Lima. He can afford to skip a few classes, and he'll explain to Wes the situation and hopefully he won't cop too much slack for skipping out on a rehearsal. He flicks the radio on as he drives, refusing to think about this being his fault. Kurt was right, he had needed to stand up to this guy.

What if that had happened to me?

The thought makes itself clear in Blaine's mind. What if he'd finally stood up to James after the Sadie Hawkins dance? What if he's told him what was what, made him stop all his vicious taunts and violent acts? Would James have kissed him?

No. He was homophobic. He wasn't a closet case.

Blaine tells himself this over and over as he drives, and feels almost sick to the stomach that the idea of kissing James still seems to give him some form of butterflies. It was hard, to separate the James he had known to be his best friend, and the James that made his world hell for months on end. Sometimes Blaine liked to think that they were two different people, but the reality was that they were the same. And he needed to understand that, the sooner the better.

Blaine spots Kurt the moment he pulls up at McKinley. He's standing there in front of the school, blue coat and grey scarf of to keep him warm, accompanied by a pair of black jeans. So, Kurt has impeccable taste in fashion. Blaine notes this as he gets out of his car and smiles over to Kurt, who waves and hurries over to him, bag hitting his hip as he does.

"Hey! Thank you so much for this" he breathes and stops in front of Blaine, clearly nervous as he lets out a breath. Blaine reaches out and squeezes his arm.

"Relax. It's fine. I'm here. Now… did you want to do this now…" he asks and receives a quick not from Kurt.

"Please"

The pair walk into the building and Blaine realises immediately that he stands out. He's still in his Dalton uniform and a few people are giving him odd looks here and there. Regardless, he's here for Kurt.

"I don't know why I called you… this happened two days ago. I just felt so scared that it could happen again." Kurt explains as they walk and Blaine shakes his head.

"Honestly Kurt, I'm glad you called. That's why I gave you my number" he tells the boy and they share a small smile as they start to head up the stairs.

"Thanks again, for coming"

"Don't worry about it. Just let me do the talking" Blaine states and Kurt gives him a not, looking up. Blaine notices the colour drain a little from the boy's cheeks.

"There he is"

Blaine looks up and spots who Kurt is talking about, and Kurt was right. He's massive, and would easily be able to take Blaine down if it came to it, but it won't. Blaine swallows and looks to Kurt.

"I got your back" he hums and makes his way up the steps.

"Excuse me" he calls and gets the attention of Karofsky, who smirks just a little at the sight of Kurt and this boy he's never seen before.

"Hey, lady boys. This your boyfriend, Kurt?" Karofsky looks down at Blaine and frowns, looking at him like he just might be the scum of the Earth. Blaine taking a breath before he composes himself. There was no need to make this any worse by allowing his ego to be bruised.

"Kurt and I would like to talk to you about something." Blaine states simply and almost kindly and Karosky simply rolls his eyes.

"I gotta go to class." He huffs and pushes passed Kurt, knocking the boy to the side. Something in Blaine stirs and he raises his voice a little.

"Kurt told me what you did."

Karofsky turns at those words and shrugs, shoving his large hands into his pockets.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" he asks and its Kurt who speaks up.

"You kissed me"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Dave huffs and it's then that Blaine notices a dash of fear in his eyes. Perhaps he needs to take a different approach to confronting this boy.

The boy begins to walk away as Blaine starts to talk, keeping as calm as he can be. He doesn't need things to escalate any further.

"It seems like you might be a little confused. And that's totally normal. This is a very hard thing to come to terms with, and you should just know that you're not alone."

As Blaine finishes his sentence, his stomach flips as Karofsky hurries back up the stair, a face of rage. He grabs Blaine by his blazer and Blaine is sure that, for a small moment, he's about to be punched. Instead he is forced backwards into the fence and slammed against it hard.

"Don't mess with me!" Karofsky spots and Blaine's hands immediately rise up in defence, his heart hammering away inside his chest, readying him in case he needs to run.

"You have to stop this!"

It's Kurt's voice that he hears and it's Kurt who shoves the jock of him, Blaine finally letting out a breathe he didn't know he'd been holding in. Karofsky just gives them a glance before he runs off down the stairs, leaving Blaine to internally calm himself before he panics in front of Kurt.

"Well he's not coming out anytime soon"

His sad attempt at lightening the mood does nothing of the sort, and he watches as Kurt takes a seat in defeat on the cold steps. Blaine sighs and straightens his blazer, moving over to the boy.

"What's going on? Why are you so upset?"

Stupid thing to ask Blaine. His bully just displayed physical violence in front of him, and basically showed he was never going to change. And hey, Kurt was kissed against his will. What could possibly be wrong?

Blaine regrets his question the moment he asks it, though Kurt doesn't seem to mind him asking.

"Because until yesterday, I had never been kissed. Or at least, one that counted" Kurt sniffs and Blaine takes a long moment to look at him. Kurt had never been kissed before. The very idea of having a first kiss stolen makes Blaine's heart ache. He pats Kurt on the shoulder and gets to his feet.

"Come on. I'll buy you lunch"

Kurt gets on his feet and quickly wipes his eyes as Blaine does up his blazer.

"Are you okay?" He asks as they begin to walk back towards Blaine's car. Blaine flashes him a smile and nods.

"Yeah. I've had worse. Besides, it really does seem like he's just too afraid to admit to himself who he really is. I'd suggest… perhaps… staying out of his way until that happens. I know that goes back on what I said about confronting him and having courage…"

"Blaine"

"Yeah"

"Thank you"

Blaine looks at the boy beside him and swallows when he sees the sincere and soft expression on his face. He feels his cheeks pink just a little and he nudges the boys shoulder with his own.

"You're welcome Kurt"

The boys both smile as they continue out into the carpark, Blaine shoving his hands into his pockets. It's been a while since he's made a new friend, and to him, Kurt seems like a really nice guy. He hasn't felt this open with anyone since James. The thought of his old best friend brings a little bit of fear into his bones, but he pushes that thought away with the thought of how hungry he is right now and how Kurt seems to be fidgeting with his scarf a little as he waits beside Blaine for him to unlock the car.

"So… Friday night, how do you feel about hitting up breadstix? I haven't been there in so long" Blaine hums and watches as Kurt stares up at him in what appears to be shock. Then he smiles.

"Sounds like a plan"

And a plan it is.


	3. The Substitute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys. Thank you so much for all the support you have given me with this story. Please let me know that you think so far and what you think of the characters I have introduced :) Anything you want to see scene wise, let me know!

THE SUBSTITUTE

"So, tell me, do you actually wear anything but the blazer?"

Blaine smiles at Kurt's question as he takes another bite of the cheesecake Kurt had insisted they order at Breadstix, even though they had just devoured an entire bowl of gnocchi each.

"Of course. I'm just yet to grace you with my presence on a weekend" Blaine hums and set's down his fork and Kurt smiles at him, eating some more of his cheesecake. Overall, their dinner had been a complete success. They had spoken about far too many things to count, and Blaine had learnt that Kurt had an even more impressive knowledge of Broadway than himself. As they ate, Blaine found himself rather happy that he had found someone like Kurt. They got along like a house on fire, and so instantly as well. Yes, he was great friends with Wes and David and quite a few of the warblers, and he had some friends in other classes, but he really did miss being able to ease into conversation so quickly, and not have to worry about what he said. Wes and David were wonderful, so accepting and they had taken Blaine under their wings the minute he started at Dalton, and Blaine would forever appreciate how they included him in everything they did, football games, movie nights, gym workouts even. But sometimes Blaine missed being able to talk about the latest episode of project runway which he secretly watched under the covers on his phone when his roommate was sleeping, or being able to discuss the latest Broadway musical in more detail than just how amazing the vocals and choreography were. Yes, there were other gay kids at Dalton, but Blaine just hadn't managed to connect with they as quickly as he had with Kurt. He hadn't been this happy to make a new friend since the day he'd met James.

"Well we might just have to change that. There is this little market place opening up on Saturday, just passed the mall. It's supposed to be totally vintage, and I think I could manage to get my hands on some really good quality accessories for my upcoming wardrobe makeover" Kurt's eyes gleam happily as he talks and Blaine can't help but chuckle.

"Wardrobe makeover?" he muses and folds his arms across his chest. "Is that a thing?"

"Of course it is! It's where you go through every article of clothing you own, and try it on. If it doesn't fit, you cry and see if you can tailor it or make it into something new. You go through and decide on new outfits for the upcoming month. And if you have less than 12, you get to go shopping"

Blaine listens to Kurt and he laughs softly, shaking his head as he reaches for his glass, sipping on his soda as a frown comes over Kurt's face.

"What?" he asks and Blaine smiles.

"Nothing. You're just so…"

"Gay?"

"I was going to go with creative and adorable but sure" Blaine smiles, his eyes crinkling just a little at the sides. Kurt's cheeks go a little pink and he sips his soda quickly as Blaine looks down at his empty plate.

"The market sounds good. I'll definitely be there" he hums and takes a napkin off the table, wiping his lips with one swift movement before he stands and takes out his wallet.

"Ready?"

Kurt nods in response and stands too, reaching into his bag to pull out his own wallet.

"Oh no. You put that away Mr Hummel" Blaine chuckles and opens up the bill, setting a few notes inside. He likes to tip generously, and even though his father often lectures him about how over tipping isn't something he should form a habit out of, he does it anyway. Kurt's eyes widen as Blaine closes the bill and slips his wallet back into his pocket.

"You can't pay for all of it Blaine"

Blaine pulls his bag over his shoulder and looks at Kurt.

"Why not?" he asks and Kurt stands there, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Because I ate half of the food. I should pay half…"

"Kurt, it's fine. Trust me" Blaine smiles and reaches out, giving Kurt's arm a small squeeze.

"But…"

"You can buy the next lot of coffee we have. Okay?" the boy hums and receives a small nod from Kurt. Blaine smiles and the pair leave the restaurant, Kurt going back to talking about his wardrobe. They've spoken on the phone a few times since Blaine came to McKinley to talk to Karofsky, and they've texted each other constantly every day. Oddly enough, they do not talk about glee club. It seems to be some unspoken rule that, since they are competitors after all, they would simply stick to the getting to know you subjects instead.

"Thank you for tonight. It was nice to hang out" Kurt smiles as Blaine pulls up alongside his house, smiling at the boy.

"You are most welcome. So… I'll come pick you up tomorrow for the markets?" He asks as Kurt fiddles through his bag for his house keys.

"Sure… unless you want to just meet me there? I know it's a bit of a drive for you…"

"I'm staying at my parents tonight" Blaine responds simply.

"Oh. Well okay. I'll see you at… 10?" Kurt asks and Blaine nods.

"10"

The boy smiles and waves him goodbye before he hurries to his front door. Blaine watches as the door opens and a taller boy stands there, seeming to immediately start to grill Kurt on where he's been. Kurt shoves passed him and gives Blaine another wave before the door closes. Blaine starts his drive home, turning the radio up as he goes. He sings along to whatever is on the radio and smiles to himself. He hasn't been home in a while, maybe his parents won't even be there. His mother sell's beauty products and is constantly out on little trips with her team, and his father is a highly respected surgeon, so when he isn't in the theatre he's off on conferences. Cooper had left permanently the minute Blaine transferred to Dalton.  
Perhaps that was a part of the reason Blaine loved Dalton so much, he was never really alone there.

He pulls into his driveway and parks the car. The garage is closed. He gets out and heads to the front door, knocking twice. There's a light on inside, so someone must be home.

"Just a second!"

Blaine smiles a little he hears his mother's voice and her figure comes hurrying to the door. She opens it and her smile widens.

"Blaine!"

Blaine laughs softly as he is pulled into a tight embrace, being coated in the smell of whatever new scent his mother has been given to sample, her loose dress feeling lovely and soft against his arms.

"Hey mum. I'm home for the night." He says when he is released. Pam Anderson smiles at her son and looks him up and down.

"Have you eaten? Your father and I just finished up but we can make something for you…"

"No it's okay. I had dinner with a friend. Dad's home?" Blaine asks as he's led inside, his mother fussing over his uniform as they walk.

"He is. Shocking, I know. But his conference in Chicago was cancelled." Pam tells him as she takes his bag and sets in down in the hall. "Daniel!" she calls and Blaine sighs softly as he gives his childhood home a quick look. It's still so big, even though he's grown up. The ceiling is too high and the halls are too long, and of course the art is so very bold that it almost hurts Blaine's eyes to look at it. From the other end of the hall, two large oak double doors open and a man stands there. He is of a medium height, his salt and pepper hair a wild array of curls. He looks at Blaine and gives him a small smile.

"Didn't think we deserved a call hey, son?"

At his words Blaine immediately wants to turn around and drive the two hours back up to Dalton.

"I didn't think…"

"He doesn't need to call Daniel. This is his home" Pam states as if it is the simplest thing in the world, her hand squeezing her sons shoulder. Daniel Anderson simply nods his head and walks down the hall. He stops in front of Blaine and gives him a brief hug.

"It's good to see you again Blaine. Tell me, how's school going?" He asks as leads Blaine into the living room. Blaine takes a seat on the couch, sitting at the very end as his father sits down in his single arm chair. He's not too sure where his mother has gone.

"Good. I got my French assessment result back the other day and I got an A. And um… my history marks are still good…"

"Blaine. How is the school treating you?"

Oh.

_He wants to know if they're being nice to you._

"They're great. Honestly. Everyone is… wonderful. The warblers are the best… we're competing soon, actually. At sectionals. I did send you an email…"

"I received it. I'm in Florida that day. Your mother might be able to attend. Though I am wondering why this show choir is the only event I'm receiving emails about."

Blaine frowns slightly as his father looks at him with an unreadable expression.

"I don't quite know what you mean…"

"What happened to fencing? You were fantastic Blaine and you have the trophies to prove it. And your mathletes…"

"Dad the mathletes were getting in the way of my study time and… fencing was too. I want to do something I like…"

"You didn't like fencing?"

Blaine lets out a small sigh and catches his father give him a small glare. He straightens up in his chair and flattens out his uniform.

"I want to study music. Or the performing arts. Something along those lines and in order to get a head start I need to be in glee club. I'm really good Dad, well… I'm a sophomore and I'm the lead vocalist so…" He blushes just a little and his father nods.

"We know how talented you are Blaine, and I trust your decisions. As long as your grades don't drop… you do what you feel you must"

His father gives him a rare smile before he picks up the paper and slips his glasses onto his nose. Blaine takes this as his cue to leave. He heads up to the room he has not slept in for a long while, falling into the bed with a small sigh. He misses his home. He misses his parents and he misses Cooper. He starts to plot an outfit for the morning in his head, deciding that he needs to make sure Kurt knows that he too has a sense of fashion.

* * *

"I have to admit; you are the best shopping buddy I've had in a while" Kurt hums as he carried his arm load of bags to Blaine's car, the other boy smiling happily as he carries the rest and just a few of his own. They'd only spent two hours at the markets and had come away with an entire new wardrobe for Kurt and a few little things for Blaine. Blaine had been so thrilled that Kurt seemed to approve of his fashion – he had put on some black skinny jeans with a white polo, grey cardigan with a nice red lining and a little red bowtie to match- and had genuinely enjoyed watching the other boy shop and piece together outfits like it was second nature.

"Well thank you. I would have thought Mercedes would have been your go-to companion for today" Blaine smiles as he unlocks his car, setting the bags in the back seat. Kurt does the same and shook his head.

"Usually yes, but not today. I figured that me and you could do something together." He shrugs his shoulders and smiles as Blaine moves to open the passenger door for him. Blaine is glad that Kurt asked him to come out today. He'd needed a nice distraction from his school work, and his parents had decided they were going to drive to Columbus to visit some friends for the day and Blaine really didn't feel like being left home alone in his large house all day.

"Well it was a nice plan. Did you want to do something on Wednesday? I finish up classes early, we could grab a coffee or something?" Blaine asks as Kurt thanks him for opening his door, sliding into the seat.

"Yeah, yeah that sounds really nice" Kurt smiles at him and Blaine grins as he moves to the driver's side. It did sound nice.

And nice it was.

Their Wednesday afternoon was spent discussing the various new reality TV shows that had sprung to air over the past few months as well as discussing how the new substitute Kurt had convinced to take over glee club was doing. Blaine booked them tickets to see Rent at the community playhouse for Friday, and Kurt was absolutely over the moon. They went and ate popcorn and sung along quietly under their breaths. They laughed the entire way back to Kurt's house where Blaine had been the perfect gentlemen and walked him up to his door. He'd squeezed the boys hand and told him he'd had a wonderful time and that they should have dinner on Monday night.

"Monday sounds… great. Except I've blown Mercedes off twice now and I think it a third time occurs I'll be on the lookout for a new best friend."

"So bring her along. I'd love to meet her."

So that's exactly what Kurt did.

* * *

Monday night found him and Blaine seated together in a booth at Breadstix with Mercedes opposite them, having just finished up their lovely pasta meals.

"So I don't understand why it has to be a thing" Blaine sighs as he sips his drink through his straw, Kurt nodding his head in agreement.

"I know. It's not like us getting married is really effecting heterosexual marriages…"

"Ah but you forget Kurt, it's an 'insult to marriage'" Blaine scoffs as he watches the boy beside him. They'd been deep in conversation for about half an hour now, Mercedes having tuned out a few minutes ago. Blaine figured she was simply contemplating what to order for desert. Blaine is feeling like he's won the friendship lottery at the moment. He's never really been able to have these discussions with anyone before, and it's not because they don't care about the same issues that he does, they just don't fully understand his view point like Kurt does.

"Drunk people who get married to someone just saying that they met an hour ago by an Elvis impersonator…I mean, that's the bigger insult to marriage than two gay guys getting hitched." Kurt says and Blaine nods enthusiastically.

"Totally. It's, like, if marriage is so sacred, they should just outlaw divorce. Right?" Blaine hums and glances across the table to Mercedes, who looks like she is actually worlds away.

"Right. Right." Kurt hums and follows Blaine's gaze over to his friends.

"What do you think, Mercedes?" Blaine asks politely and watches as he girls blinks and her eyes focus back in again on the two boys sitting across from her.

"Oh, about, uh, "don't ask, don't tell"?" The girls asks and Blaine smiles softly at her. So she really had been out of it. He doesn't really blame her though, he and Kurt had been very engaged in a topic she wasn't too familiar with.

"No, we're on prop 8 now." Kurt tells her and Mercedes nods.

"Totally for it."

"Against it."

"Right. I'm sorry, I kind of just blanked out." Mercedes sighs and Blaine smiles at her, shaking his head.

"Oh, don't apologize… we should talk about stuff that you're interested in, too." He smiles and Mercedes sits up a little in interest.

"I know… let's play a game." Kurt grins and shuffles a little in his seat as Blaine gives Mercedes another smile before turning back to look at the boy.

"Okay, on the count of three, name your favourite 2010 vogue cover. Okay, ready? One, two, three…"

"Marion Cotillard."

The words escape Blaine's lips the same time as they do Kurt's and they both chuckle softly.

"Yes!"

"Oh, my God, stop it! Yes, I know. She's amazing!" Blaine grins and Kurt laughs in agreement as Mercedes remains silent.

"Amazing!"

"Amazing!"

Blaine sighs happily and takes another sip of his drink. "I might get back to Dalton in time to catch the end of the Buckeyes game if I'm lucky" he hums and Kurt looks at him.

"The Buckeyes?" he muses and Blaine goes to answer and looks over at Mercedes, who has once again zoned out of the conversation. Blaine gives Kurt a small tap on the shoulder and the boy looks across to his friend and sighs.

"Mercedes? Mercedes?" He calls and the girl's eyes refocus on them with a small apologetic expression appearing on her features.

"I was just talking about the buckeyes… I'm a college football fan. I like sports, too, you know." Blaine tells her with a happy smile and Kurt chuckles.

"Oh, way to break the stereotype." He raises his hand and the pair high five as the waitress who's been serving them all night walks passed and Mercedes is quick to grab her attention.

"Excuse me. I know it's not on your menu, but I was wondering if you guys had…"

"You want some tots? You kids must go to McKinley." The waitress smiles and nods at the girl as Blaine gives Kurt a small glance.

"They banned tots at school… it's a long story" he whispers and Blaine goes back to sipping his drink as Mercedes seems to lighten up a little.

"So, what were we talking about?" she asks with a happy edge to her voice and Blaine looks to Kurt happily as the boy starts to speak.

"Has anyone read Patti Lupone's new book?"

Blaine looks to Mercedes with an awkward expression and Mercedes shrugs her shoulders in response.

"I'm kidding. Of course I have." Blaine grins and looks to Kurt who is practically laughing by now.

"You scared me so much there."

"I know, I was aiming to do just that" he hums and looks to Mercedes.

"Not a fan of Patti Lupone?" He asks and the girls sighs.

"I prefer Aretha…" She sighs and Blaine grins.

"I love her. And yet I am never allowed to sing her songs for glee club. Apparently my manly tones won't do her justice" he chuckles and feels Kurt shuffle a little closer to him, their legs now pressed together under the table. Mercedes gives out a soft sound that Blaine thinks is a laugh, and he feels a little bit better about the night. Meeting Mercedes had been fine. She was nice and Blaine was of course the perfect gentlemen, but he could tell that the girl was jealous of just how well he and Kurt got on. And Blaine never wanted to be someone who broke up a friendship.

"Kurt said you were the lead vocalist in your glee club. Do people… like you there? In our glee club it's a death match for solo's" Mercedes tells him and Blaine glances to Kurt, who nibbles on his lower lip in response. They pair have made a point out of not discussing each other's respective glee clubs, at least until competition season was over.

"I won't go into much detail because we are competitors… but we have certain ways and we all accept each other. We're fair and we acknowledge everyone's talent. We're acapella so everyone is equally important in all songs." Blaine shrugs and Mercedes blinks.

"That sounds far too peaceful" she hums and Blaine chuckles.

"Perhaps it is"

A small silence falls over them and Blaine checks his phone as Mercedes tots arrive, the girls face lighting up.

"I might head off. Long drive ahead of me" Blaine smiles and Kurt stands, letting the boy out.

"Do you want me to walk you to your car?" He asks softly and Blaine shakes his head, although he wants to say yes.

"Thank you but I'll be fine. You stay here and enjoy the tots" he smiles and squeezes the boys arm softly. "I'll call you tomorrow. Mercedes, it was lovely to meet you" he hums and Mercedes looks up from her tots and nods.

"You too"

Blaine smiles and adjusts his uniform, giving Kurt one last smile before he leaves. It was nice to meet one of Kurt's friends, and even though she was a little awkward around him, he was sure he'd made a good impression. He gets into his car and turns on the radio, taking off his tie and his blazer before he starts the long drive back to Dalton. He was starting to love driving down to Lima to see Kurt, and he never thought of it as a task. It was something new, and Blaine loved new things.

Once he's back at Dalton he looks at his phone and finds a text from Kurt.

**Thank you for tonight. Despite her horrid social skills tonight Mercedes really likes you. And don't worry, I've assured her at least 15 times that we are not dating -K**

Blaine chuckles to himself as he walks down the dimply lit hallways towards his dorm room. It was only natural for Mercedes to think they were dating, right? They did call each other every night and they hadn't exactly been shy when it came to hugging and light touching in public, but Kurt was just his friend. His new and very gay friend. Blaine shakes the thought from his head as he replies.

**Let her think what she thinks. I'm just glad to have made a friend like you. Have a good night Kurt x -B**

Blaine sends his message and freezes when a hand rests on his shoulder.

"You were gone a while. I thought we were going to watch the game together"

Blaine chuckles and turns to face Wes, who's standing behind him in sweatpants and a Dalton hoodie, a bowl of chips in his hand.

"We can watch the end right?" Blaine smiles as the pair start to head down to Blaine's dorm.

"We can. But I guarantee we're going to be interrupted by Simon, who'll want to know all about your little date with Kurt" Wes chuckles and watches as Blaine rolls his eyes fondly, folding his blazer over his arm.

"First of all, you know that it wasn't a date. And Simon wouldn't care either way…"

"Oh please, Simon thinks every meeting you have with a guy who isn't him is a date. You shouldn't have ended it Blaine. You know he still tells everyone that you guys are on a break right?" Wes muses as Blaine stops outside his door, the sound of the TV blaring the game coming through to them. Blaine runs a hand through his hair and sighs. Simon is a junior who Blaine had briefly dated for a month at the beginning of the year. Blaine wasn't very good at being a boyfriend to someone, he'd never done it before he was a little unsure of how things happened. Simon told him he wasn't romantic enough and that he needed to be more involved in the relationship. In order to amend the issue, Blaine had gone completely overboard in Simon's opinion and had filled his bed with roses, which the boy happened to have a strong allergic reaction to. Needless to say Blaine decided to end things before he did anything else stupid. Why Simon was still interested in h aim he wasn't sure.

"We aren't. We're broken up and he can deal with the fact that Kurt is a friend, a good friend who I like spending time with"

Wes chuckles and pats Blaine on the shoulder as they head inside. The rest of the night Blaine spends on his bed with his friend, trying his hardest not to think about the fact that the majority of his friends think he is dating Kurt. Dating Kurt is not an option. If anything Blaine is being a mentor to the boy, and he is perfectly fine with that.

Perfectly damn fine.


	4. Furt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the response. Please don't forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think/ would like to see!

FURT

It's been an entire month since Blaine met Kurt on the staircase at Dalton, and he can't help but feel like that day was fate. He's somehow managed to score a wonderful friend, and in turn he's become somewhat of a mentor to Kurt. They have two coffee dates a week and they never fail to make the boys day just a little bit brighter. And that is where Blaine finds himself now, sitting down at one of the back tables in the Lima Bean, smiling across at Kurt, who looks like he's ready to burst with excitement.

"Today was just fantastic" the boy breathes and Blaine sips his coffee, chuckling as he sets the cup down.

"You've been grinning from ear to ear since we got here Kurt. Are you actually going to tell me what's making you all jittery with excitement or am I going to have to pry it out of you?" he muses and raises a brow at the boy, who sighs happily and toys with his cup for a moment.

"Okay, okay. So… my Dad is getting married! He proposed to Carole this morning!" Kurt rocks a little in his chair and beams and Blaine can't help but smile back. No, he hasn't actually met Burt or Carole, but Kurt speaks about them so often that the happiness Blaine feels for the news of the couple is genuine. It had been 3 weeks into their friendship that Blaine had asked about Kurt's family, and he'd discovered that the boy's mother had died when Kurt was only 8 years old. He'd been told about Finn and his lovely mother Carole, and how Burt and her had started dating and they lived together and whilst Kurt liked having Finn around because he felt like he finally had a sibling, he also didn't enjoy hearing him and Rachel make out all the time.

"That's great Kurt. Congrats to them" Blaine holds his coffee cup up in a toast and Kurt giggles, pressing his cup to Blaine's.

"It's so great. I don't think Finn is as over the moon about the whole thing as I am…"

"Understandable. He isn't used to a father figure, and whilst you say he and Burt are close, this is a big step for him. It's only ever been him and his mum. This is permanent change has to get used to" Blaine says casually and takes another swig from his cup. Kurt looks at him in something that closely resembles awe and it makes Blaine feel just a little bit proud.

"You're right. Of course" Kurt smiles and looks at the boy for a moment.

"I would invite you to come along as my date…"

"But I haven't met your Dad or Carole, and we've only been friends for a month. It's completely understandable" Blaine hums and sets his coffee down. "Don't feel bad about it. And as long as you fill me in on the details I'll be totally fine" He smiles and Kurt gives him a small nod, glancing down at his phone.

"I'm planning the whole event, naturally. And the glee club are going to be singing. I have so much to do and I'm going to have to teach my Dad to dance and Finn which may prove to be the hardest task I'm yet to face."

"But you're determined to succeed?" Blaine muses and Kurt rolls his eyes fondly.

"I love a man who can quote musicals to me" he breaths and Blaine fixes the sleeves of his blazer.

"Well you're in luck, because I know plenty."

"Of men or musicals?" Kurt raises a delicate brow and Blaine grins. They often joke around like this, and Blaine can't deny that he likes it. There's just something about how relaxed in nature the whole thing is, and Kurt seems to slip into these conversations with ease.

"Well both" Blaine chuckles and Kurt lets his teeth bite down on his bottom lip for a moment before his phone buzzes.

"It's my Dad. I should probably be going…"

"I will call you" Blaine smiles and watches as Kurt rises from the table and gives him a little wave before he exists. Blaine smiles and finishes off his coffee before he rises himself, grabs his bag and heads towards his car. He wonders what a wedding planned by Kurt Hummel would be like. He knows just how fancy Kurt can be with detail, he's been shopping with the boy a handful of times by now, and he often received messages from him that contain images of décor designs he wants to put in his future home. His phone starts to ring in his pocket and he answers it.

"Hello?"

"Blaine! Simon here. I'm at the Gap and I'm in desperate need of your dapper fashion sense. Come help me out?"

Simon sounds like he's pouting and Blaine chuckles a little as he climbs into his car. He and Simon are on casual speaking terms, and oddly enough Blaine doesn't find it awkward. Surely hanging out with someone you sort of used to date should be a little awkward, but maybe this just shows that he's moved on from Simon. He's grown.

"I'll be there soon. Don't buy anything until I get there" Blaine smiles and hangs up the phone. He had told Wes that he'd run over a few numbers for sections with the Warblers later on, so he'd probably have to be quick. The warblers were practicing for sectionals nearly every night now, and it was becoming harder to think of excuses to leave and call Kurt. Thad had called him out on being distracted one to many times, and he'd even interrogated Blaine for a whole ten minutes until David had called order and brought them back to rehearsing. Apparently a few of the warblers thought that Blaine should be focusing more of his time of practice than on his new friend. And maybe they were right.

****

 

"So you're telling me that, despite the fact that you've been calling him every day and you see him at least twice a week, you're not dating?"

Simon looks at Blaine with large, unconvinced green eyes and Blaine gives a simple nod as he fishes through the shirt rack, pulling a few dress shirts out every now and then to glance at.

"That's exactly what I'm telling you"

"But why?" Simon asks and stops looking through scarves, folding his arms across his uniformed chest. He stares at Blaine in curiosity and Blaine gives him the once over before he sighs.

"Because… I've known Kurt a month. And we get along so well… and I really care about him. He's been through a lot and I doubt that he'd be ready for a relationship right now, and I… I don't want to ruin what we've made. He needs someone to… stand by him and perhaps someone to look up to. Besides… as lovely as Kurt is… I'm not exactly leaning towards him on the… um… romantic feelings scale" Blaine sighs and Simon follows his gaze to where a young man stands with a head of hair that can only be described as a white boy fro. He's folding sweaters and he has a bored look on his face. Blaine thinks he looks kind of cute.

"Him?" Simon asks and Blaine blinks, returning his attention to the boy beside him.

"Sorry?"

"Mr crazy hair folding sweaters? You have feelings for him?" He asks and Blaine chuckles and shakes his head.

"No Simon. I don't know who he is. I don't really have feelings for anyone at the moment… I'm focusing on competition season and my grades…"

"You don't still have feelings for me?" Simon asks, and Blaine takes one look at his face and he knows the boy is hurt. Yes, they only seen each other for a short while, but apparently Simon still liked to hold onto the fact that, at one stage, Blaine had been entirely focused on him.

"Simon…"

"Because I do. Have feelings for you that is. And… We've been so good these past few weeks Blaine, and I really think that we could give it another go..."

"Simon…"

"I know I told you that your romance was lacking and then you did sort of almost kill me with those roses, but I see now that the thought behind it was so very touching, and honestly… seeing you so happy and bright about this Kurt guy… it's making me really jealous"

"But we aren't even together, he's just a friend…" Blaine begins and Simon cuts him off, putting a finger to the boy's lips.

"Blaine. I'm telling you that I want to be… us… again" He breathes and grabs Blaine by his lapels, pulling him forward into a hard kiss. Blaine's eyes fly open as their mouths connect and he feels extremely queasy. His stomach instantly starts to tighten and his palms start to sweat. He pulls back from the kiss, his lips parted, eyes completely wide in what Simon assumes is shock, until Blaine is quickly looking around the large store they're standing in, pale and shaking.

"Oh… oh shit…" Simon breathes and Blaine takes a step back, swallowing hard as he tries to keep his composure. It's getting harder and harder to breathe and he feels like everything is closing in on his so quickly. He loosens his tie and tries to focus on what Simon is babbling.

"I'm sorry Blaine, I forgot… I forgot you don't do PDA…"

"PDA?" Blaine breathes and looks at him. "Simon…I can't deal with spontaneous PDA… or… or being forcefully kissed in a public place where anyone could see and… I… I have to go" Blaine shakes his head and doesn't even wait for Simon's response before he's running out of the store, not stopping until he's at his car. He leans against it and closes his eyes, breathing in the fresh air. He's okay. He's safe.  
He'd been getting better. He'd been having less panic attacks and he was able to sing love songs in glee now where he could actually make eyes contact with another boy whilst doing it when performing in public.

"You are out and you are proud and you have nothing to fear" Blaine tells himself as he remains leant against his car, his hands pulling off his tie.

"You have nothing to fear. They aren't here. They aren't going to hurt you"

He takes a few more moments to calm down, slowly he stops shaking and he is able to get into his car. He swallowed and runs a hand through his hair. He's okay. He'll be okay.

****

"He threatened to kill me."

Those words remain in Blaine's head the moment Kurt whispers them through the phone. Blaine had been sitting in his dorm room whilst his roommate went out for lacrosse practice, just going over some notes for his history text the next day when his phone had lit up beside him with Kurt's name on the screen.

"He what?" Blaine breaths and drops his bed down onto his lap, staring at nothing as his expression turns into a deep frown.

"He… I don't even know where it came from…"

"He threatened to… and… did you tell someone? A teacher? The principal?" Blaine asks and he hears a soft sigh on the other end and he knows the answer before Kurt even speaks.

"No"

"Kurt… why not?" he breathes and he stands up, searching for his hoodie and his shoes.

"Because… He said if I told anyone he'd kill me. I'm not about to announce that to the world. I have a wedding to plan…"

"Nothing should come above your safety Kurt. God… I'm coming down there. I'm gonna talk to him…"

"Blaine he won't listen…"

"Then I'll make him listen!"

"Blaine… he said this weeks ago. And… now he's just terrifying me…"

"Wait… you didn't tell me? Why?" Blaine asks, almost hurt by the notion that Kurt didn't rely on him with such drastic information. He sits back down on his bed and lets his hands run nervously through his hair. What if Kurt gets seriously hurt? What if Blaine could stop it?

"Because I didn't want you to over react, sort of like you are now. Blaine… I told you now because I needed to get it off my chest. I'm not asking you to come down here like my knight in shining armour and fight him. I'm confiding in you as a friend, a relatively sane minded friend." Kurt sighs and Blaine swallows hard.

"I just want you to be okay…"

"And I will be. I just…today was hard. Mr Schue saw how scared I was so they know that he's been harassing me. There just isn't anything they can do unless he physically hurts me…"

"He kissed you Kurt."

A silence hangs in the air for a few moments before Kurt finally speaks.

"I'm not going to be responsible for outing someone. No matter how much he… he scares me."

Blaine lets a small smile form on his lips and he looks over at his window.

"You're honestly so… you're something else Kurt. I admire you for that"

Kurt chuckles a little on his end and Blaine lays down on his bed.

"So… are you going to be okay?"

"Yes. I think so."

A knock sounds on Blaine's door and David pokes his head around with a smile.

"Ready for another round of practice?" he asks and Blaine nods, pointing to his phone as he sits up.

"I'm glad. Look, I have to go, but if you need anything you call me. Okay?"

"Okay"

"Courage Kurt"

Blaine spends the next week entirely focused on his school work. He gets the odd few texts from Kurt telling him how the wedding planning is going but he doesn't call. Blaine keeps fairly to himself, only seeing people during practice. He needs to be more focused and he'd taken his fathers advice and delved into everything head first. He doesn't speak to Simon much, deciding it best that they not get too friendly again. He spends a lot of his time in the library, and he has to admit… he's rather proud of his efforts. He gets some pictures of the wedding from Kurt and he feels a sense of relief when the boy calls him on a Monday morning before school starts.

"Hey Kurt. How are you?" Blaine asks as he adjusts his tie in the mirror, throwing his bag over his shoulder as he leaves the bathroom and heads towards the door.

"I'm… surprisingly good. I have some good news and some bad news. I'll start with the bad" the boy hums and a small frown sets on Blaine's face as he walks down the corridors of his dormitory block, nodding his head a few of his fellow classmates who greet him.

"Okay? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Remember how I texted you and told you that Karofsky got expelled?"

"Yes…"

"He's back at school. The board appealed to his side of the story and… decided that he didn't deserve expulsion."

Blaine sighs and shakes his head. Of course.

"That's absurd."

"I know. It is… now… I'll tell you to good news after. Are you heading to class? School's starting soon…"

"Yeah… I have history first. Are you? I mean… I wouldn't blame you if you took the day off" Blaine tells him as he hurries down the hall, towards the staircase.

"Yeah I'm going to class… oh I have to go"

Kurt hangs up suddenly and Blaine frowns, glancing at his phone before he stows it away in his blazer pockets and follows the sea of students down the winding stairs.

"Excuse me"

A familiar voice sounds in Blaine's ear and he turns around, bumping into a few students as he looks up the stairs, a smile breaking out onto his lips. Kurt stands there, clad in full Dalton uniform this time, his hands clutching at his bag, phone in his hand.

"I'm new here… I could really use a hand in finding my first class" He hums and Blaine doesn't even reply before he walks up the stairs and hugs Kurt. The boy hugs him back and Blaine feels a small sense of relief because his friend is safe.

"This is what you want?" He asks when he pulls away, fixing the boys tie for him. Kurt smiles and nods.

"It is. And I need it. A fresh start at a place that will accept me" he hums and looks Blaine up and down.

"I was serious by the way… I have no idea where AP English is" he hums and Blaine smiles at the boy.

"I'll lead the way"


	5. Special Education

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, so I'm going to be updating weekly now, let me know what you thought!!

SPECIAL EDUCATION

"Thad, head count" Wes hums as Blaine takes a seat amongst his fellow Warblers. He's fiddling a little with his cuffs, looking down at his phone quickly before he stows it away and Thad starts listing off people's names, all of them responding in a different pitch. When Blaine's name is called and sings it back deeply and earns himself a high five from Jeff. He can't help but feel a little nervous. Today is the day that Kurt is able to join his warbler brothers, and he's genuinely excited. He and Kurt are pretty close friends, and having another friend to sing and dance with during glee club never hurt anyone. Kurt had also decided to be extremely secretive about his singing voice, refusing to sing along with Blaine in the car whenever a Katy Perry song blasted through the speakers. Blaine, of course, respected this decision. They had been rivals at the time, but now Kurt was one of them, one of the team, and he was extremely eager to hear the boys voice in action. The council had decided against having Kurt audition. Apparently Wes had gotten his hands on a video of them performing a 'funky number', and had stated that he thought Kurt would 'make a wonderful addiction to their baritone's'. Blaine had of course deemed this ridiculous. Based on Kurt's naturally high speaking voice, he figured Wes was simply trying to wind them up.

"All accounted for" Thad nods and sets his papers down, Blaine receiving a small nod from Wes. The boy gets to his feet and walks over to the main doors, smiling as he opens them.

"And now let's welcome the newest addition to the Warblers, Kurt Hummel." Wes calls and the Warblers all start to applaud as Kurt walks into the room. Blaine claps along with the rest and gives Kurt a smile as the boy looks around, clearly just a little overwhelmed. Blaine remembers the feeling all too well.

"And our oldest tradition for our newest Warbler… an actual Warbler" Wes hums and Blaine carefully picks up the small cage that had been in the centre of the room, smiling at the little yellow bird that tweets softly inside.

"Kurt, meet Pavarotti" He grins and looks at the little bird. "So long for now little buddy" he whispers and walks over to Kurt, handing him the cage as Wes speaks, chuckling softly at the stunned look on Kurt's face.

"This bird is a member of an unbroken line of canaries who have been at Dalton since 1891. It's your job to take of him so he can live to carry on the Warbler legacy. Protect him, that bird is your voice."

Blaine smiles as he watches Kurt interact with the bird. Pavarotti had been his for a short time, and he feels somewhat grateful that Kurt is the one to whom he passes the bird on to.

"Hey I'll bring him to work with me. Weekends I volunteer at a stray cat rescue. It's at the bottom of a coal mine." Kurt chuckles and looks around the room at the sea of blank faces. Blaine smiles to himself and shakes his head as the Warblers sit in a stunned silence.

"That was a joke, I-I don't work at a coal mine…" Kurt is interrupted by the banging of Wes's gavel, which reminds Blaine instantly to attempt to hide it again once the meeting was over. The last time had resulted in a hilarious breakdown with Wes interrogating nearly every Warbler about its whereabouts. Blaine had very nearly been denied a solo because of it too.

"Let the council come to order. Today we discuss the set list for Sectionals…" Wes begins as Kurt raises his hand and shakes his fingers a little.

"Council?" he muses and Blaine shuffles a little on the end of the couch he's currently perched on.

"We don't have a director. Every year we elect three upperclassmen to lead the group. But don't worry, we all get a say." He reassures Kurt, realising that this is the first time Kurt is hearing about the Warblers structure.

"Oh fantastic! I have a lot of ideas. Warblers, if I may? Now I can't deny that the Warblers vocals are absolutely dreamy, but I believe our set for Sectionals this year should have a little more showbiz panache. I think we should open with Rio by Duran Duran" Kurt's voice is so full of energy and courage that it makes Blaine's heart break just a little to see the smile fade from Kurt's face when he is told that the Warblers are not responsible for song selection. Blaine catches the boys eye and gives him a soft smile, motioning his head towards the seat on the sofa beside him.

"Now, I propose we do our entire set at sectionals in eight-part harmony…" Wes begins the topic of the day as Kurt gathers up his things and the bird cage and makes his way over to Blaine, taking a seat beside him.

"Are you okay?" he asks softly before his name is called and he looks up.

"Yes?"

"Your opinion?" David hums and Blaine blinks.

"My opinion…."

"On opening with Hey Soul Sister by train and doing it in eight-part harmony?" Thad asks and Blaine simply nods.

"Sounds like a plan" he smiles and looks back to Kurt, who is now focusing his attention on Pavarotti, who was hopping around the bottom of his cage happily. Blaine sighs and turns back to the discussion the council are now having on what song they should follow up with. They eventually decide to decide later, and after going through a quick rundown of how they will be getting to sectionals (Thad convinced the Dean to hire a fancier bus that came with a mini fried), Wes bangs down his gavel and the Warblers all start to depart.

"Blaine! A word!" David calls and Blaine rises to his feet, moving over the council desk.

"We were thinking… we want to open up the second song to someone new…"

"It's no disrespect to you…"

"Of course not" Blaine cuts Thad of with a raise of his hand and he lets a smile form on his lips. "I'm so grateful that you let me lead you in all these wonderful songs all the time, but yes… it is time we let someone new have their moment to shine. Are we going random draw or someone who shows commitment and a solid attitude?" He asks and Wes nods as he puts his papers away.

"A good attitude. We've written a small list. We all agree on Jeff and Nick as the two who should audition" He states and Blaine bites his bottom lip for a moment before he decides to voice his thoughts.

"I'd like to add Kurt to that list."

"Blaine…"

"He's shown a good attitude about his idea's being shot down so quickly. He's new… he needs a chance to prove himself. David pushed for me to have a chance and… look how that turned out" Blaine speaks in a business manner and Wes sighs before he nods.

"Okay. Jeff, Nick and Kurt"

Blaine grins and pushes off the desk, straightening up.

"Wonderful. I'll tell them the good news"

He hurries to grab his bag and heads out into the hall. He himself had auditioned for a solo at their previous sectionals, and he had blown them away with his cover of We are the World. It was the perfect song for the Warblers to join in on, showcasing their team spirit whilst also allowing Blaine's vocals to shine. Blaine makes his way down the hall and spots Kurt about to descend the staircase. He hurries after him with a hand tight on the strap of his bag.

"Hey, Kurt, wait up!" he calls and catches up to the boy, who looks at him with a small smile when he sees who is calling his name.

"I saw that Glee Club was hard for you today, seeing your idea shot down like that." Blaine smiles at him gently and Kurt lets out a soft sigh.

"It's just a different energy in there. Not better or worse, just something I'll have to get used to."

"We recognize that and we have a tradition at this school of rewarding a student with a good attitude, so we'd like to invite you to audition for a solo." Blaine smiles and watches as Kurt's eyes light up just a little at the prospect of a solo.

"For sectionals?" he breathes and Blaine nods.

"For sectionals. Sing something good." He hums and pats Kurt's arm before he hurries off down to the bottom of the stairs with a grin. He loves being able to make Kurt smile. He pauses at the bottom of the stairs before he turns around and looks at his friend, who is still standing on the staircase in shock.

"Hey… I just had a thought. Do you have class right now?" He asks and Kurt nods.

"Yeah, French."

"Okay, well after that meet me back here okay? I want to show you something" Blaine grins and earns himself a raised brow from Kurt, but the boy agrees anyway.

Blaine finds himself standing at the bottom of the staircase after Kurt's class, checking his pocket watch every now and then.

"You look hurried. Am I being to slow?"

Blaine looks up as Kurt smiles at him, coming to a stop in front of Blaine.

"Not at all. Good class?" Blaine asks as Kurt looks around and nods.

"Yeah, I mean it's nice to not be the only one who can speak French in class anymore" He hums and turns his attention to Blaine. "You wanted to show me something? Should I be worried?" He asks and Blaine rolls his eyes fondly before he takes the boys hand and squeezes it.

"Of course not. I just thought that you needed a little pick me up" Blaine hums and let's go of the boy's hand and starts to walk him down the hall. Kurt follows beside him, looking at him with curiosity evident on his face.

"You know that we are under age right?" Kurt bites his lip as Blaine looks at him.

"We aren't going drinking Kurt. I just wanted to show you something that I enjoyed when I first started here" Blaine explains as they walk down another hall, coming to a small door at the end. Kurt looks around before he smiles at his friend. Blaine opens the door and the pair are immediately met with a loud tweeting sound. Blaine watches as Kurt steps inside. Across the other side of the large room is an Avery. It's large and bright, little yellow canaries tweeting around happily. Kurt blinks and looks to Blaine.

"What is this?" he asks softly.

"This is Pavarotti's family" Blaine smiles as he stands behind Kurt, looking at the boy with a soft smile. "This is where he will come soon as well, and he'll find a little girlfriend and then Pav junior will come along and be passed down to the next Warbler to grow with." Blaine hums and Kurt nods, stepping a little closer.

"So he's… not all alone?"

"Not at all. This is where they all live. We just take care of the little ones, when they are old enough to be parted from their mothers obviously" He smiles and moves over to the Avery, smiling softly. Kurt walks with him and stands beside him, admiring all the little birds that were happily chirping and hopping around.

"This… it's made me feel a little better. Knowing little Pavarotti can come back here to his family" Kurt sighs and Blaine reaches out to take his hand.

"All in due time Kurt. I promise"

****

Blaine applauds along with the rest of the Warblers when Jeff finishes singing his own exciting version of Take On Me from Aha, and Blaine notes the impressed looks that sit upon the councils faces.

"Wonderful. Jeff we will be in touch shortly. Please send in Warbler Kurt" Wes nods and Jeff hurries out of the room. Blaine takes the time to readjust his tie and sit up a little in his seat. He has no idea what Kurt is singing; the boy never came to him for song advice all week. Blaine simply assumes it's because Kurt doesn't want any inside help, but he feels a little put off by the notion that perhaps Kurt is seeking advice elsewhere. He lets the thought run away as Kurt enters, smiling softly.

"Hello my fellow Warblers" he hums and Blaine gives him a small thumbs up as Kurt hands off his CD to Thad and stands in front of the group with a straight back and a smile.

"Today I will be singing Madonna's hit classic, Don't Cry for Me Argentina. A personal favourite that I feel highlights my vocal talents" Kurt smiles nods to Thad, who hits play. The music starts and Blaine settled back in his seat and allows himself to watch Kurt's performance. The moment the boy opens his mouth he is absolutely blown away. Kurt is a countertenor. It should have been obvious simply from how his voice sounds on a day to day basis, but Kurt singing is absolutely beautiful. Blaine watches his talent and coaches him through slightly. After all, he knows the Warblers tough standards, and so far Kurt is not scoring high for song choice. Kurt is emotional and in control of his voice the entire song, but Blaine can't help but notice some of the unimpressed faces in the room, and he himself knows this is not a team song. Maybe if Blaine had offered him some song advice… no. Kurt hadn't needed him. He had to make his own decisions, he is his own personal after all. Blaine watches as Kurt comes to the closing note and he applauds the boy for his efforts, letting himself look over to the council.

"Thank you Kurt for that… rather eye openings performance. We'll be in touch shortly. If you'd like to just wait out in the hall with our other two candidates" Wes gestures over to the door and Kurt nods, gives a little awkward curtsey and hurries out the door. Once it closes the Warblers begin to talk amongst themselves and Blaine is called up to the front.

"The council feel that we need to see another song from the contestants…" David begins and Blaine smiles.

"I know. I think maybe if we give them a theme, that way they know that…"

"Blaine. We would like Nick and Jeff to sing another song, and figure out some harmonies for the rest of the team to add into them. Kurt was…his vocals are impressive" David sighs and Blaine raises a hand.

"I know. He was too personal and wasn't thinking of the team"

"Perhaps next time" Wes smiles weakly and nods his head. Blaine smiles just a little and straightens his tie once more.

"I'll notify the candidates" he says and makes his way to the door, a sad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He doesn't want to deliver bad news to Kurt, if anything he wants to give the boy another chance. As he walks out into the hall he hears the three talking and he gathers himself up and interrupts them.

"Hey guys. Nick, Jeff, congrats you're moving on." He smiles and the pair cheer and hug each other before they hurry off. Blaine lets his eyes focus on the Kurt as the boy smiles in defeat.

"Any sage advice?" the paler boy muses and Blaine watches him with soft eyes.

"Don't try so hard next time."

"I didn't realize that caring was frowned upon." Kurt is almost sarcastic and Blaine tries his best not to frown. He knows it doesn't seem fair that Kurt has to sit this one out, but this is his team after all. Things are always done to tradition and Kurt needs to know these things so he can start becoming a part of the family that helped Blaine so much.

"I don't know how it worked at your old school, but did you notice that we all wear uniforms around here? It's about being part of the team." He says, aware that his tone may be a little bit too sassy, but Kurt doesn't seem to care.

"I guess I'm just used to having to scream to get noticed." Kurt says and looks down. Blaine sighs and moves a little closer as he speaks"

"You're not gonna make it as a Warbler if all you care about is getting noticed."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"I know it's gonna take some getting used to but you'll fit in soon enough. I promise." Blaine smiles as the boy and starts to head back towards the Warblers before he pauses and turns around to look at Kurt.

"Why did you pick that song, by the way?" he asks and Kurt looks up at him, rubbing his knee a little.

"A friend suggested it to me. She said I should be personal. I knew it wasn't ever really wise to put my trust in Rachel Berry" Kurt chuckles softly and Blaine gives him a soft smile.

"You have an amazing voice Kurt. It's very impressive. And I'm sure your time for a solo is just around the corner" he hums and shuffles a little on his feet. "If you're not busy later… did you want to come and help me set up some decorations in my dorm room?" he asks and Kurt just looks at him with a blank expression.

"Decorations?"

"For Christmas."

"But it's November"

"Well you can never be too ready for Christmas Kurt. We can maybe watch a movie too." Blaine smiles hopefully and grins when Kurt throws a nod his way.

"Sure. I'll come over." He hums and Blaine nods.

"I'll see you there"

When the day of sectionals finally arrives the Warblers all pile into the new bus and start to warm up instantly. Blaine sits beside Kurt and talks to him quietly for the ride there. He knows that Kurt is eager to see his friends again, and Blaine lets him know that it's totally okay if he wants to go and see them before they perform and wish them luck. They talk about how excited they are and they go over some of the songs with the others and play a small game of would you rather until the bus arrives. Once they are all signed in Blaine lets Kurt go and find his friends, staying back to talk to Wes and David about a few last minute noes he has. The gets himself ready and when they start calling for places Blaine heads off to find Kurt. He finds the boy talking away happily to a small brunette girl who is rather loud and animated, and he smiles a little at how comfortable Kurt seems around her.

"Kurt, they're calling places" Blaine smiles and looks to the girl. "Hey" he nods and Kurt stands and bids the girl goodbye and follows Blaine.

"How are the friends?" Blaine asks and Kurt smiles.

"Good from what I gathered. Stressing a little but, I think we all are" Kurt hums and bites on his lower lip, clearly nervous.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a small tip here. Smile" Blaine hums as he and Kurt move backstage as they wait to go on. Kurt looks at him and sighs softly.

"I'm sorry. I know you must think me ungrateful…"

"I think you're adjusting" Blaine tells him before Kurt can finish. He looks at the boy and turns to face him fully. "Kurt, I get this is hard for you. It has to be, seeing your friends again and being at a different school… but you can make friends here too. And maybe we can be your new family. But for that to happen you have to be open to the idea"

Kurt looks at him for a long moment before he nods and looks at his shoes.

"I know. It's just different. And I like to think I already have a friend here" he hums and looks up to smile at Blaine. Blaine nods and reached out, squeezing the boys shoulder gently.

"You do. Now let's get out there and win this thing" Blaine grins and claps Kurt on the shoulder before he hurries off to take his position behind the curtain, the rest of the Warblers doing the same. Blaine lets his head move from side to side as he warms up a little. He's used to performing, of course he is, but he still gets a little nervous regardless. They need to be wonderful today. David claps him on the back as he takes his position and Blaine gives a final glance and smile over to Kurt before they are being announced and the curtain is coming up. He knows he doesn't have anyone in the audience to perform for, no family members or old friends, but his teammates do. So he puts on his best performance and he moves like the stage is his home, making sure to be crystal clear in his diction and make sure that Kurt is having fun. He catches Kurt's eyes a few times during the performance and notices as they go on that the boy is smiling more. The moment the curtains are down again David is clapping him hard on the back and the rest of the warblers are cheering away happily at how they went.  
Blaine makes his way over to Kurt and smiles at him.

"So… the verdict"

"It was… wonderful" Kurt smiles and blushes a little as a few of the warblers high five him.

"I'm glad you think so" Blaine grins and links arms with Kurt, walking them off the stage.

****

Blaine. SOS in the south study hall. Please come ASAP-Kurt

Blaine smiles as his phone beeps and he opens it up, a frown racing onto his face immediately.

"Sorry Andy, I really have to go" he breaths as he sets his latte down and gets to his feet quickly, many different scenario's racing through his head as he does. The blonde haired Andy looks up from his coffee, a little stunned.

"Oh… oh okay… um… another time?" he asks as Blaine hurries off.

"Sure!"

Blaine races down the hall and makes a sharp turn down another, coming to a halt outside the room. He walks inside and collects himself just a little as he goes.

"I got your text, what's wrong?" he breaths as he spots Kurt sitting over on one of the couches. Kurt looks up at him and Blaine makes a mental note that he boy looks perfectly safe and sound.

"It's Pavarotti, I think he's sick. I've been taking good care of him, but he… he won't sing, and he…he's losing his feathers." Kurt swallows and Blaine makes his way around the other side of the couch, bending down to examine the little bird. He smiles softly when he realises the problem and sits back beside his friend.

"Oh, he's just moulting. He's growing a new coat of feathers so his body as to shut down a little. But don't worry about it. He's got food, water, seems to like his cage. Just give it a little while. He'll be singing again in no time." He smiles at Kurt and the pair look at each other for a moment before they look away.

"Don't forget, Warbler practice tonight at 5. Regionals here we come!" Blaine squeezes Kurt's thigh before he gets to his feet, deciding to leave Kurt be for a while. He was still settling in and probably needed space. He heads out into the hall and smiles a little to himself, looking down at his phone. He has a text from Cooper, wandering if he wants to skype tonight for a few minutes since that's all the time Cooper has these days.

"You weren't busy were you?" Blaine looks up from his phone to see Kurt standing there with Pavarotti. He cocks his head to the side a little as Blaine shakes his head.

"No. No. I was just having coffee with a friend"

"A friend?" Kurt muses and Blaine chuckles.

"Yes"

"Like a date?" he hums and Blaine blushes slightly.

"No. Not a date. Just coffee with a friend" Blaine smiles and puts his phone away into his pocket. "Are you busy after practice? I was thinking we could grab dinner. Eat it in my dorm and watch movies?" Blaine smiles and Kurt nods quickly.

"Yes. That sounds… wonderful" he smiles and looks down at the little bird.

"Great."

A silence falls over the pair before Kurt bites his lip and smiles, saying goodbye before he heads off down the hall. Blaine looks down at his phone and grins, dialling his brothers number. After a few moments it stops ringing.

"Hey squirt, I have about 2 minutes before I'm due back on set so this better be rapid fire"

"Nice to hear from you too Coop. I just wanted to tell you that I made a new friend. And I really think it's gonna last this time…"


	6. A Very Glee Christmas

A VERY GLEE CHRISTMAS

If there is one thing that Blaine loves, it's Christmas. He loves the soft white snow that falls in December and fills the Dalton grounds, making it look like a scene right out of a novel. He loves the fashion too, it gives him a chance to expand on his steadily growing scarf collection, which Kurt has now become a large donator to. But most of all Blaine loves the holiday music that really gets everyone in the Christmas spirit. So naturally he has applied for numerous holiday jobs that allowed him to sing his favourite carols in a public setting, and when his phone goes off in the middle of his solo shopping trip to the gap, he answers with a happy tone and practically jumps for joy when he'd told he got a job singing baby it's cold outside at the Kings Island Christmas Spectacular.

"Scored a cute date?"

A voice snaps Blaine out of his excited haze and he turns around, a red scarf in one hand, his phone clutched tightly in the other. He comes face to face with the cute young man he's learnt is the assistant store manager, eyes looking down to the name badge that sits pinned neatly to his green sweater.

Jerimiah

Blaine blinks and composes himself, straightening his back a little as he smiles at the young man.

"Scored a pretty good gig actually" he hums and starts to blush under the man's gaze.

"I did see you staring at your phone for a solid ten minutes, waiting for it to ring so… congrats" Jeremiah hums and reaches behind Blaine to fold a sweat someone has dumped. Blaine swallows and tries not to inhale the man's cologne in too deeply.

He smells amazing.

"Thanks. I'm Blaine, by the way" he breathes and Jerimiah looks him up and down for the briefest of moments before he sets the sweater in his hands down and offers Blaine a handshake. The boy takes it and grips his hand eagerly as they shake.

"Jerimiah"

Blaine grins and let's go of Jerimiah's hand, clutching the scarf even tighter.

"Nice choice. It goes with the uniform. Prep school huh? I remember those days. Hallways filled with testosterone and far too much deodorant." Jerimiah chuckles just a little as he eyes the scarf in Blaine's hand. Blaine swallows just a little, nervous for reasons he isn't really sure of. Jerimiah is older, and he's most definitely cute.

Relax Anderson. Breathe. Be charming. You totally have this.

"It does go very well… but it's not for me. A Christmas present for a friend who happens to share my love of scarves" Blaine smiles and carefully folds the scarf over his arm and goes back to looking at more in the collection he is standing beside.

"You went to an all boy's school?" Blaine muses, looking up at the young man with slight interest in his eyes before he goes back to aimlessly looking through the racks of scarves.

"Sure did. In Michigan. Moved here two years ago." Jerimiah tells Blaine and reaches over him and picks out a long scarf that was a soft blue in colour, with hints of brown and red running through it.

"Here, you should try this. It would really bring out those eyes of yours" he smiles and Blaine is pretty sure his heart is starting to melt. This man is talking about his eyes, and helping him pick out clothes? He takes a small breath and takes the scarf.

"I'll take both" he breathes and Jerimiah gives him a simple nod and walks him over towards the checkout. He rings up the items and smiles at Blaine as he hands him the bag once he has paid.

"Say… if I need more scarf advice…" Blaine begins and Jerimiah chuckles.

"Feel free to come back. I work every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. And next time I might even shout you a coffee" he hums and Blaine grips the bag tightly and nods just a little too enthusiastically.

"Awesome! I'll see you around" he grins and practically skips out of the Gap with his new scarves.

****

"…And so I said that Carole would most definitely not appreciate a new vacuum cleaner, to which Finn replies, 'but she's a mum. They like cleaning up stuff'. I swear he was dropped on his head as a baby" Kurt rolls his eyes as he lays on Blaine's dorm room bed, watching his friend pack up some of his clothes into a suitcase. Blaine chuckles softly as he tosses some socks into the case, looking up at Kurt.

"Your brother doesn't exactly seem like the sharpest tool in the shed"

"Oh he isn't" Kurt hums and pops another piece of popcorn into his mouth from the bowl beside him.

"So maybe give him some assistance. He'll learn eventually. I mean… you said he never had a Dad right? He probably never had any help when it came to these sorts of occasions. The gift giving kind" Blaine shrugs and moves over to his bed, laying down beside Kurt, eating some popcorn too.

"I suppose. I guess I'm just not used to having someone ask me for gift advice who isn't my Dad" Kurt smiles and takes some more popcorn as Blain grabs the remote, turning on the TV that sits directly opposite the bed. The bed isn't too large, so the boys are pressed together, though Blaine doesn't really mind. Kurt's figure is slight and he happens to be extremely warm. Blaine eats some more popcorn before he looks at Kurt.

"Are you excited? To have a larger family for Christmas?"

"I am actually, yes. I love Carole, she's wonderful. And Finn really has started to become like a brother to me. He sends me little updates via text very now and then" Kurt smiles to himself and looks at Blaine, remaining silent for a moment before he speaks.

"Are you going home for Christmas?"

Blaine knows that Kurt is only asking because Blaine hardly ever talks about his family. And when he does, it's not with grand excitement. Yes, Blaine loves his parents dearly, of course he does. He knows that they are both very busy and important people, and he can't expect them to be worrying over him every second of every day, he gets that. He also knows that his father would rather Blaine lead a very different lifestyle to the one he does, but he knows his father loves him. He misses his brother, who is hardly ever home except for birthdays and important holidays. Cooper had missed thanksgiving this year, so Blaine was more than excited for him to come home for Christmas.

"Yeah. I always do." Blaine says softly before he flicks over the channel until he finds something good. He settles for an old timey Christmas movie and relaxes back into the pillows on his bed. Kurt shuffles beside him and plays with the rim of the popcorn bowl.

"I used to love Christmas" he whispers and Blaine looks at him.

"Used to?"

"Well… I still do. But I used to love it a whole lot more. When my Mum was around" he sighs and Blaine turns his full attention to the boy. Kurt rarely talks about his mother, unless of course she is brought up in conversation, which Blaine tries to avoid as much as he can.

"She loved to bake, and she always used to make these delicious holiday cookies. They were mint choc chip and she'd decorate them with little Santa faces or Rudolph…and whenever she would start baking those I knew it was time for Christmas." Kurt smiles and looks down at his hands. "She would always decorate the tree just right, and she and my Dad would sing holiday songs around the house every day. Dad would always get just a little annoyed because Mum would always buy the tree, and never wait until he got home because she was so excited" Kurt grins and looks at Blaine with soft eyes.

"I miss her at Christmas, a lot… but this year won't be so hard. Because I have a new family to celebrate with… and a new friend too" He whispers and bites his lip before he takes Blaine's hand and squeezes it. Blaine feels his heart swell at the wonderfully friendly action and he squeezes back.

"The honour is all mine Kurt" he smiles and looks at the boy for a long moment, thinking just how strong he seemed to be. Kurt's cheeks turn a soft pink and he turns back to the TV, keeping his fingers interlocked with Blaine's, and Blaine is more than happy to keep things that way.

***

"So this singing thing… will it be televised?"

Blaine rolls his eyes as he sits on his bed in full Warbler uniform, flicking through a history book with one hand, phone to his ear in the other as he talks to his brother.

"No Coop, it's not televised. But it brings in quite a crowd, so I don't know… I could get more gigs from it" Blaine hums and stares as the pages, nothing really sinking in.

"And have you been rehearsing? Rehearsing is so important…"

"Well it's a duet, Coop."

"So?"

"So… Who am I going to sing with? I go to an all-boys school" Blaine chuckles and he hears his brother laugh on the other end.

"Really Blaine? You are so clueless. Didn't you tell me a few weeks ago that you have a friend who has the range of a girl? And that meant you guys can branch out in song choice or something" Cooper hums and Blaine blinked, closing his book.

"Oh my god. Of course! God… I didn't even think about asking Kurt…" he breathes and Cooper sighs.

"Big bro to the rescue. I have to go now squirt, photoshoot time. I'll see you"

Cooper hangs up before Blaine can even ask him about what he got their parents for Christmas. He puts his phone into his pocket and get off the bed, straightening up his blazer. He hadn't even thought about asking Kurt to rehearse with him, he'd been so caught up in spending holiday time with the boy it hadn't even occurred to him to ask. He grabs his little CD player and slides the disk he had been practicing alone to inside and heads off down the dormitory hallway. He knows that Kurt will either be in the senior common room (The Warblers always allowed him to study in there), or the south wing common room that people usually tended to avoid after 5pm because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of lighting up the fire. It got incredibly cold down there. Blaine pops his head into the senior commons and sees Wes sitting there, surrounded by papers.

"Oh... hey" Blaine smiles and Wes looks up, chuckling softly when he sees Blaine in the doorway.

"He's in the south wing. Trent was just there" Wes smiles and Blaine blinks a little, confused.

"I… Kurt?"

"Yep"

"How did you know I was looking for Kurt?" he asks and Wes looks down at his notes.

"You're always looking for Kurt." Wes hums and Blaine doesn't bother asking what he means by that. Instead he gives him a small waves and head's off down the hallway, gripping his CD player even tighter. He hums as he goes, smiling to a few classmates as they head back to their dorms for the night. He sees the two open doors to the south wing and he heads inside, immediately spotting Kurt with his head down, studying a rather large text book. He sets down the CD player and Kurt looks up quickly.

"Hey" Blaine smiles and Kurt's face relaxes a little.

"You scared me" he breathes and Blaine turns on the CD player, smirking a little.

"Good because I'm actually Marley's ghost, and I'm here to tell you to stop studying so hard" he smiles as he takes a seat opposite Kurt.

"What's with the boom box?" Kurt asks and looks at it quizzically as Blaine leans back in his chair.

"I need you to sing with me. Well, rehearse with me. I got a gig singing Baby It's Cold Outside at the Kings Island Christmas Spectacular" Blaine widens his eyes and gives Kurt a little smile.

Kurt raises his brow at his words and sets down his pencil and sits back in his chair.

"Ah, a personal favourite. Too bad they'd never let us sing it together" he hums and Blaine furrows his brow a little in confusion.

"I am as two… artists" Kurt states and Blaine agrees with him with a soft smirk.

"So, are you gonna help me out here?" he muses and Kurt responds quickly.

"Anything to get me to stop reading about Charlemagne."

"Very good then" Blaine smiles and flicks Kurt's text book closed as he gets to his feet, heading over to the CD player. He has to admit, he's a little happy to get to sing with Kurt after their few months of friendship. Kurt has a wonderful voice and Blaine loves performing in general, and who knows, maybe he'd find a new car duet partner after this. He hits play on the box and starts to dance a little as the music comes on. He leans against the chair and gestures for Kurt to begin.

"I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside  
I've got to go away - Baby it's cold outside  
This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in  
So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice"

Kurt gets up and starts to make his way towards the other side of the room and Blaine smiles, following along after him as they sing, finding that their voices blend together extremely well.

"My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what's your hurry?  
Father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar  
So really I'd better scurry - Beautiful, please don't hurry  
Maybe just a half a drink more - Put some records on while I pour"

The neighbours might think - Baby, it's bad out there  
Say, what's in this drink? - No cabs to be had out there  
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight now  
To break this spell - I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell

I ought to say no, no, no - Mind if I move in closer?  
At least I'm gonna say that I tried - What's the sense in hurting my pride?  
I really can't stay - Baby don't hold out  
Ah, but it's cold outside"

Blaine grins when they end up at the piano, letting his fingers move over the ivory keys as he plays along to the soundtrack, smiling up at Kurt who has a slight blush to his cheeks.

'I've got to get home - Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there  
Say, lend me your coat - It's up to your knees out there  
You've really been grand - Thrill when you touch my hand  
Why don't you see - How can you do this thing to me?  
There's bound to be talk tomorrow - Think of my life long sorrow  
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died'

Blaine kneels on the couch and pouts at Kurt, letting his eyes scan over the boy's as he sings and for the briefest of moment's Blaine can't get the thought of Kurt's lips out of his head. They're pretty close together now, all he'd have to do is lean forward and he's be able to taste the cherry lip balm he knows Kurt uses, but Kurt moves and the thought is immediately out of Blaine's mind just as quickly as it entered.

"I really can't stay - Get over that hold out  
Ah, but it's cold outside"

They finish singing and end up on the couch, pressed closely together. They smile at each other and Blaine looks away for a moment, chuckling softly to himself, trying to find the words to explain to Kurt just how fun singing with him had been.

"I think you're ready" Kurt smiles and Blaine smiles back.

"Well… for the record," Blaine begins as he gets to his feet, turning to look at his friend. "You're much better than that girl is gonna be" he hums and heads over to his CD player, picking it up. He sees a vaguely familiar man enter just as he exists and smiles at him, remembering him to be Mr Schuester, the coach of the New Directions. He must be here to see Kurt. He leaves the two alone and head's back to his dorm, completely happy with how that rehearsal had went. He gets changed into his pyjamas [ a pair of track pants and a Dalton sweatshirt, his normal pyjamas were packed in his suitcase]. He gets out his phone once he is under the covers, his roommate out for the night.

Thanks for singing with me tonight. Let's do it again sometime? -B

He sets his phone down on the bedside table and flicks his lamp off, falling to sleep almost immediately.

****

"I suppose I'll see you after the Christmas break" Kurt sighs as he stands outside by Blaine's car, a small box in his hands, all wrapped up in shiny green and red wrapping paper. Blaine smiles as he closes his trunk, leaning against his car. He's all wrapped up in his winter gear, scarf and beanie keeping his head warm, and Kurt is exactly the same.

"You could always come for the ride; I can drop you home"

"I know but my Dad's already on his way with Finn. They want to check out the school again for some reason. Personally I think Finn want's to have some of the muffins I rave on about all the time from the café" Kurt rolls his eyes and Blaine chuckles softly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Right. Well, we will obviously call each other. And text. And skype" Blaine hums and Kurt looks down at his gift.

"I know. I've just gotten so used to seeing you all the time" he chuckles and Blaine unfolds his arms, opening up his car door. He pulls a small present off the seat and offers it out to Kurt.

"Merry Christmas Kurt" he hums and Kurt smiles, exchanging gifts with Blaine. Blaine had gotten Kurt a soft red scarf and a small silver canary broach along with a voucher to a new vegan skin care store that opened up in the Lima mall.

"Don't open that until Christmas day" Kurt warns and smiles widely as he takes Blaine's gift and tucks it under his arm. Blaine stashes his present from Kurt in the back seat and closes the door, sighing softly.

"Well… have a great Christmas and a happy New Year." He smiles and steps forward, pulling Kurt into a warm embrace. Kurt hugs him back for a few moments before they let go and Blaine adjusts his scarf.

"You too" Kurt smiles and steps back, waving as Blaine gets into the car. The boy turns on his stereo and White Christmas starts to blare as he backs out and starts the drive home, waving to Kurt until the boy is out of sight. He smiles to himself as he goes, glad that he'd managed to score such a wonderful friend this year.

***

Blaine shivers a little as he stands outside at the amusement park, waiting for his duet partner to show up. They have two hours of rehearsal time before they are set to perform and Blaine is sure that he's ready. He pulls his coat just a little tighter around himself, smiling at the people who pass him by.

"There we go. He's right here. We'll see you both at curtain call" A man's voice cut's through Blaine's thoughts and he looks up, smiling at his duet partner as he walks over to him. Something about her is familiar, her bright red stockings and emerald green dress are taken in as Blaine looks her up and down quickly. He's seen this girl before.

"Hi! It's Blaine right? I'm Rachel Berry, star performer of the New Directions. I have to say, I'm glad that you're my duet partner. At least I know you harbor some form of talent" Rachel smiles brightly up at Blaine and the boy blinks before he quickly holds out his gloved hand.

"Lovely to officially meet you Rachel" he smiles softly and grins when Rachel's grip is just as firm as he'd expected.

"Likewise. Now, shall we get to rehearsing?" the girl hums and Blaine nods, following after her happily He can't wait to share this with Kurt.

****

"What do you mean… he's not coming home?" Blaine swallows as he stands at the bottom of the stairs in his red skinny jeans and overly large Christmas sweater, an arm full of gifts ready to put under the tree.

Pam sighs softly with her phone in her hands, looking up at her son as he husband takes off his coat, having just come home from work.

"He's not able to make it. They don't stop shooting until late tonight and by that time he wouldn't land here until tomorrow afternoon…"

"But it's Christmas" Blaine breathes and stands there, unsure of what is actually happening. One moment he was racing down the stairs, completely overjoyed because his brother was going to be coming home any minute and he had so much to tell him, and the next moment his mother was telling him that Cooper would not be home for Christmas. They hardly had time to speak on the phone these days for longer than five minutes, and Blaine hadn't seen him in person in almost a year.

"And Cooper had a job that requires him to work over the holidays. We have to accept that" Daniel says simply as he presses a small kiss to his wife's cheek, looking up at his youngest son.

"But… I haven't seen him in so long…"

"And neither have we. That's a part of life Blaine. People grow up and they leave home and start their own lives. I'm sure Cooper will come around for birthdays…"

"He missed my last one" Blaine sighs and looks down at the gifts in his hands. Daniel simply sighs and moves to stand in front of his son, looking up at him from the few steps below.

"Blaine… you're 16 years old. It's time that you accepted the fact that your brother isn't always going to be around when you want him to be." Daniel says simply and Blaine swallows, trying hard not to cry. Christmas is an important time of year, was it so wrong of him to want his whole family to be there for it?

"I suppose he's just like you in that respect sir" Blaine says flatly before he turns and heads back up the stairs. He can hear his mother and father start to argue softly and their voices soon drown out as Blaine closes his door. He sets his presents for Cooper down on his desk and moves to sit on the edge of his bed. He knows on some level that his father is probably right, he does need to learn that Cooper isn't always going to be there, but that's hard. Blaine had always looked up to his brother, even though Cooper hadn't always been the kindest brother in the world. As Blaine got older though, they had been able to bond a little more, and in Blaine's freshmen year they had really connected, until Cooper moved away. Blaine felt like all his progress had been tossed down the drain since then.

A soft knock on his bedroom door brings Blaine out of his thoughts and he collects himself once again.

"Come in"

Daniel steps inside and closes the door behind him, and Blaine is surprised to see that the man's expression does not contain anger.

"That was extremely rude, what you said downstairs Blaine" Daniel says simply and Blaine looks down at his knees.

"I know. I'm sorry…"

"But you were right"

Blaine's head snaps up so fast that his neck clicks a little, his eyes just a little too wide.

"I… I was?" he asks, his voice soft as he stares at his father. Daniel gives him a brief nod before he moves over to his sons bed, taking a seat beside him.

"Yes. I… I know that I have been distant. For a long time. My job doesn't help that and I know that there have been a few times where you'd needed a father and I haven't stepped up to the plate" Daniel rubs his hands over his own thighs as he talks, something Blaine knows the man does when he's nervous…a very rare situation. "And it's my job to apologize for that. It's been tough on me too Blaine…these past few years and with everything that went down at your old school… I should have responded immediately to your complaints. Instead I thought you should… face the situation dealt to you like a man. And it never once occurred to me that you were still just a boy" Daniel looks at his son and takes a small breath.

"You and your brother are so different. He's bold… he speaks his mind constantly… and he never really needed me as much as I'd hoped he would… I just assumed that you were the same. But you're not. You're more soft spoken and you think before you speak… most of the time" he chuckles and Blaine smiles softly. "And you needed me. You needed me to hear you and I'm sorry I didn't listen. And I'm sorry Cooper isn't going to be here for Christmas… but me and your mother are and I would really love it if we could just spend tomorrow as a family." Daniel looks to his son and opens his arms, Blaine pausing for a moment before he moved into his father's embrace.

"Thanks Dad" he breathes and chuckles when he receives a small pat on the back.

"Good. Now… clean up and come back down stairs… we'll watch a movie" Daniel states before he gets to his feet, heading to the door. He pauses and looks back at Blaine.

"It's good to have you home son" he says simply before he leaves.

Blaine smiles and lays down on his bed, closing his eyes. At least now maybe Christmas wouldn't be so bad.

Christmas Day for Blaine wasn't as bad as he's thought. He'd woken up in the morning bright and early and raced downstairs to find his mother and father already awake with breakfast set. They'd eaten and then exchanged gifts. Lunch had been spent with Blaine's grandparents and then dinner was at their home once more.

Blaine heads back up to his room after a Christmas movie and smiles when he sees Kurt's gift sitting on his chair. He picks it up and moved to his bed, slowly tearing at the lovely wrapping. Inside is a simple, black velvet box. Blaine frowns a little and opens it up, his breath hitching in his throat when he sees the gift. It's a small charm, a little yellow canary sitting upon the black cushion. Blaine gently strokes over its solid form and flips it over, grinning from ear to ear when he sees the small engraving in the back.

Courage

Blaine sets the box down and moves to his phone.

Your gift is amazing. Merry Christmas Kurt xx -B

He smiles and lays down, holding the charm in his hand until he falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so yes... I made Blaine's female duet partner Rachel. It only seemed right considering Rachel would most definitely have jumped at a chance to perform in public, even if she doesn't celebrate Christmas. She's Rachel Berry :)


End file.
